Upgrades at Dunedin's Tunnel Beach are improving visitor safety and resilience and sharing the area's rich Kāi Tahu cultural history.
Tunnel Beach track attracts more than 200,000 visitors per year and has undergone significant upgrades over the past four years to make the track safer, more resilient to weather, and provide more in-depth cultural and historical highlights.
A celebration held at the site yesterday (21 October) officially marked the end of the upgrade work and signalled a new chapter for the popular coastal walk.
Mana whenua Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou shared their knowledge, whakapapa and stories of this place which can now be seen in interpretation panels and planting of native flora throughout the track and rest areas.
Dr Megan Potiki, Kai Tahu, who wrote the cultural narrative the panels were inspired by, says the work strongly reflects the traditional names of the coastline, as well as the manu and mahika kai practices used by her ancestors to catch kai.
"Along the Tai o Āraiteuru coastline, there was an abundance of manu available for our tīpuna to hunt, including tītī, weka and kūkūpa (kererū).
"Projects like these help tell our stories in a visual way while supporting our aspirations to restore the mauri of our taiao and revitalise our forests," she says.
Boffa Miskell and Aukaha worked together to implement the cultural design. Aukaha Design Lead and artist Aroha Novak (Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Kahungunu, Tūhoe) has translated this narrative into artworks drawing on themes of mahika kai, native manu previously inhabiting the area, and traditional cultural practices. Planning and design consultancy Boffa Miskell supported the integration of these elements into the project.
Planting was guided by the late tohuka raraka (weaving expert) Roka Hurihia Ngarimu Cameron, who provided insight into native plant species that would attract native manu back to the area, but could also be used for weaving. These manu are reflected on cultural markers and speak to the relationship between Kāi Tahu and the manu that once inhabited the area, Dr Potiki says.
DOC Coastal Otago Operations Manager Gabe Davies says the finished site provided cultural and historical insight for visitors while enjoying the wild and dramatic Otago coastline.
"What has been achieved here is much bigger than the physical infrastructure. We've created a safer and more resilient visitor experience, better protection for this remarkable coastal environment, and an opportunity for people to understand the stories, whakapapa and connections that make this place significant.
"Many, many people have carried a piece of this project over the past four years. What visitors experience today reflects that collective effort and what can be achieved when people come together around a shared vision for a place."
The project has involved mana whenua, Dunedin City Council, DOC, Aukaha, contractors, consultants, volunteers, neighbours and many others over its long journey.
The result is a place that better protects its natural values, tells its stories and connects visitors with the significance of the whenua they are experiencing.
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