A cap on the daily number of walkers on the busiest day walk in New Zealand is coming, but first is the booking system.

Big changes are coming to the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, including a booking system, one-way walking from Mangatepopo and greater cultural representation.

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing passes through a dual World Heritage Area, recognised for its environmental and cultural values. At its pre-COVID peak, during the busiest days, more than 2000 people would walk the track. This led to issues around human waste, overcrowding and heavy congestion. A new management plan intends to deal with such issues. However, with ​​Mt Tongariro being sacred to the Ngāti Hikairo ki Tongariro and Ngāti Tūwharetoa, ensuring greater cultural representation is at the heart of the changes, which will be implemented in stages from July this year. 

“Cultural sensitivity is a big driver for Ngāti Hikairo – sticking to the track, being aware of the significance of the place, to be respectful of the summit areas,” said George Taylor, Department of Conservation operations manager, Tongariro. “They want to provide a certain amount of cultural information that actually enhances the visitor experience. And they want the visitor to be aware that this area is significant to Ngāti Hikairo and that they are walking in a dual World Heritage Area in New Zealand’s oldest national park.”

Cultural interpretation rangers will be walking the track between October and April and even into the shoulder season. Concessionaires operating on the track must also undertake a cultural induction.

The biggest change for track users will be the implementation of a booking system that will ultimately see a cap on the number of people walking the track each day. The booking system will be introduced in July but it won’t be until October 2024 that there’ll be a cap on daily walker numbers. All users of the TAC will be required to book in advance of their trip. 

“We realise this sets a precedent – it’s the first booking system for a one day walk in the country,” Taylor said. “There’s no monetary value attached to the booking and there’s no cap at this stage.

“It’s applicable to the Tongariro Alpine Crossing and all those who wish to use that section of track, so (it will include) day visitors and people doing the Northern Circuit Great Walk as well.

“This is the first phase and it will lead to a cap the following year.”

Taylor said Ngāti Hikairo has suggested a daily cap of 800 people, but he stressed a final decision was yet to be made. He added that in the past season an average of just over 500 people walked the crossing each day. However, there were nearly 1800 walkers on the track during the busiest day of the season.

Bookings would be checked at random on the track and transport concessionaires would be required to ensure their customers had a booking for that day.

Another change is to make the track one-way only, starting at Mangatepopo. Taylor said Ngāti Hikairo had requested this change for safety reasons.

The iwi has concerns about people walking from the Ketetahi side because it takes four to five hours to reach Blue Lake, meaning people are in the alpine area later in the day. “It’s a difficult way to do it and they’d rather not have to deal with rahui, not have to deal with casualties,” said Taylor. “They feel better that it’s walked the traditional way.”

An ‘environmental monitoring fee’ is also being implemented. DOC will charge track transport concessionaires approximately 40 per cent of the per person fee DOC already charges concessionaires. Concessionaires will also be required to reduce their carbon emissions by running a modern fleet of vehicles. Taylor said it was inevitable that some concessionaires will not be able to meet these new requirements. 

However, he said concessionaires were mostly supportive of the plan.