Tauranga City Council has received a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for the Waikareao Estuary.

The Waikareao Estuary walkway is a 9km loop including a section of native bush between Goods Road and Coach Road where the council's successful ongoing restoration of a Special Ecological Area is increasing the native biodiversity, says Tauranga City Council communications advisor Marcel Currin.

Tauranga resident Ron Lock regularly users the track.

'Another popular section is the Daisy Hardwick walkway between Maxwells Road and Goods Road that was upgraded and widened in 2014.

'The Certificate of Excellence recognises the quality and quantity of reviews submitted by travellers on TripAdvisor over a 12-month period,” says Marcel.

'To qualify, a business or location must maintain an overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, have a minimum number of reviews and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months.”

Around 160,000 people per year use the walkway.