UPDATED: 5pm. With second slip on the Mauao base track showing signs of instability, Tauranga City Council staff today closed most of the mountain's base track until at least Monday April 10.

This morning city council staff announced a large slip on the southern side of the Mount has took out a section of the Mauao base track between Pilot Bay and the sandy beach at the Tanea Shelf.

The slip exposes a drop of about 30m above where the track used to be.

"We don't know how long it will take to repair the slip or to restore public access to that part of the track. Previous slips of this type on Mauao have taken weeks, and sometimes months, to restore safe public access,” says Parks and Recreation Manager, Mark Smith.

"Unfortunately the base track will not be open as a complete circuit for some time. We will let everyone know as soon as we have more certainty about the potential timeline."

Meanwhile the rest of the base track remains closed. It is being checked and cleared this morning, with an aim to having it open by the end of the day. We will advise when the rest of the base track is open, says Mark.

At this stage all summit tracks are open.

Closed tracks:

• Most of the base track is closed from Pilot Bay wharf extending around the harbour entrance side.

Open tracks:

• All summit tracks are open.
• 800m of the base track on the main beach side of the mountain is open.

Slips in Omokoroa

A number of slips have occurred in Omokoroa overnight in addition to the slip at Bramley Drive yesterday afternoon.

The most significant appears to be along McDonnell Street, Omokoroa that has affected two properties.

The sewer line has broken and both properties have lost access to wastewater services. Council staff are discussing self-evacuation with the property owners until these services can be restored.

Geotechnical engineers are assessing the site this morning.

Further slips have been reported at Hamurana Road, Ruamoana Place and near Crapp Reserve. These are understood to not be severe and staff will be fully assessing today. One resident has self-evacuated. The Omokoroa Walkway is also being fenced off until staff can properly assess the area.

Yesterday afternoon's slip at Bramley Drive is not in the same location as the major slip on Bramley in 2011.

Road closures

There are a number of temporary road closures in place across the District. Contractors are working to resolve these as soon as possible.

Staff advise that ground conditions across the District are saturated and it is possible further slips could occur in the next few days. People can report an issue any time by phoning Council on 0800 926 732.

Current road closures:

• Waitao Road – slip blocking one lane
• Te Puke Quarry Road – flooding
• Harbour View Road, Omokoroa – slip blocking road
• Kaiate Falls Road – slip blocking road
• Rocky Cutting Road – slip blocking road
• Te Puna Station Road – fallen tree and slip blocking road
• Otamarakau Valley Road – slip blocking road
• Stockton Road – slip blocking road
• Roydon Downs near Mystery Valley – slip blocking road
• MacDougal Quarry Road – fallen tree and slip blocking road
• Maungarangi Road – slip blocking road
• Reid Road – tree down blocking road.