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Members of a Tauranga hapū will take time out of the marae this summer to keep an eye on visitors to a dangerous waterfall that has proven irresistible to happy tourists.
Omanawa Falls Source: TECT Rescue Helicopter
The Omanawa Falls in the Kaimai mountain range near Tauranga can only be accessed by going down a dangerous cliff. The falls have always been closed to the public for security reasons.
In 2018, one person drowned in the falls, in addition to several people who were seriously injured upon reaching the falls or had to be rescued over the years.
But the danger signs that try to keep people away from the site, both locals and tourists, have been ignored for several years, as seen in the thousands of images posted on social media of the picturesque waterfall.
As guardians of the area, the members of Ngāti Hangarau hapū will be stationed at the entrance of the falls until April 2021.
Hapū spokesman Koro Nicholas said kaitiaki’s main goal at the falls was to care for the whenua and mauri of the Omanawa River by educating people about the importance of the site to local Maori.
He said that the people who went down the waterfall illegally, along with the injured or dead, affected the mauri and wairua there, which was precious to mana whenua.
“People don’t know the dangers it entails, they don’t know the stories about it, so they don’t treat it with the respect and reverence we treat it with. As Ngāti Hangarau, this is part of our rohe, we want to be able to be there. to tell people, ‘Hey, that’s why we revere these falls, it’s very special to us.’
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Warren Aitken of the Tauranga City Council says the falls are a continuing danger to the public, despite his efforts to cordon them off. Source: 1 NEWS
“We’ve noticed over the years, no matter how wide or high the fence is built, people will still find a way around it. It’s a huge social influence out there.
He said that the hapū have been in the area for a thousand years and they want to share their knowledge of the history with manuhiri (visitors).
“We are not the police, we are not security guards. We are just cuzzies from below in the street marae who are trying to be proactive and take care of our whenua, take care of our stories and take care of the mauri of our awa, our river.”
“As part of our role as mana whenua, we want to be able to pass on our stories and inform people about the local kaupapa, wairua and mauri so they can use it properly.
He said that this was the first time the hapū had tried the educational approach as kaitiaki.
“We are not going to put our people in danger. Some of the people who go there are not the nicest people and they have a fixed direction in mind,” he said.
“If they still decide to go and something bad happens, well that’s pretty much on their head. What we’d rather do is sit down and have a cup of tea with them at the door and then tell some stories.”
He said the hapū wants to establish that respect for the falls in the local community, visitors and also businesses, such as Trustpower.
“People don’t know what they don’t know. Some people are ignorant, some are ambivalent about things like this. What we can do to be a little more proactive and as a lasting solution is to educate people instead of complaining and just saying that not all the time.
“If you can educate them and tell them why, you probably have a better chance of changing their mindset and behavior.
“Ultimately, we decided that the best long-term course of action is to provide safe access to the falls. It is not there yet, but we are in the process of building that safe access.”
Ngāti Hangarau hapū was working with the Tauranga City Council and Tourism Bay of Plenty to create safe access to the falls, including an observation deck.
Construction is expected to begin in 2021.
