Mauao remains closed as Tauranga City Council assesses 40 landslips on the mountain.
A video posted on the council’s Facebook page shows the extent of the damage after severe weather in January.
More than 200mm of rain fell 24 hours before the January 22 landslides in Mount Maunganui and Welcome Bay that killed eight people.
Cordons placed around Mount Maunganui have been lifted but Mauao remains off limits.
“We’re getting lots of questions about why Mauao is closed … In short: there are 40 landslips on Mauao, 29 on the base track, and the area is too unstable to keep people safe right now,” council said in a post on Facebook.
“Permanent fencing and a 30‑metre maritime exclusion zone are in place, and shipping containers have been added along Adams Ave as a precaution.
“Monitoring shows increased rockfall and slip risk, so access will stay restricted until experts say it’s safe.”
Council said the Mount was open for business and thanked people for continuing to support local businesses.
“Just please respect the fencing, signage, no‑go zones and any alarms that may sound.
“Please be kind to our wardens and security guards. They’re working hard to keep everyone safe while assessments and mitigation work continue.”
5 comments
The Master
Posted on 11-02-2026 12:45 | By Ian Stevenson
On the Mount, it is no surprise that after the removal of so many "non-native" tress in or around 2023 at massive and huge cost to TCC ratepayers that this is the outcome.
Of course, that is 100% predictable... sloping ground, rain, no trees... hmmm what will happen next? This is not rocket science, it is completely predictable and known as an inevitable outcome of doing so.
I personally remember the self generated pride and determination clearly expressed at the time, to remove all the trees, it was so self-righteous and some by those involved and running the job onsite.
If this was a privately own camp site, TCC would be all over it for prosecutions and all kinds of hijinks and some.
@Ian Stevenson
Posted on 11-02-2026 14:28 | By morepork
You make a very fair (if politically uncomfortable) point. I too remember the glee with which non-native trees were removed.
Perhaps the lesson here is that trees can be replaced, but not just removed?
Daily Update
Posted on 11-02-2026 19:20 | By Scottie P
What would be helpful is the council supplying daily updates on their daily course of action. Yes daily updates because this is a very big issue affecting many people. We know the council are good at the go slow approach but this needs addressing and we need to see people doing inspections and reports. As people have stated the TCC were very proud of the vandalism that has attributed to this very sad tragic event.
The Master
Posted on 11-02-2026 22:00 | By Ian Stevenson
@ Morepork, thanks for the response here :)
The worst element here is that the TCC "created" terms of reference are very limited (like to a month prior only?), so the report and findings will be grossly deceptive to objectively determine the issue here.
This of course is specifically done to protect the medium and longer term issues that have lead to the slips, the decisions made, the shortcomings.
The report will then only be able to deal with... wait for it... it rained, there was a slip... so conclusion, it was all caused by climate change!
That way, all of TCC, all consultants, all involved will be able to happily walk away without any chance of any blood on hands for any reason.
Climate Disaster
Posted on 12-02-2026 01:29 | By SimonO
The slips were caused by a climate disaster caused by ģlobal warming. There were trees that came down in the slip. They made no difference. Those volcanic soils are naturally prone to "liquefying" and sliding when saturated. The mountain is geologically "active" in terms of erosion, regardless of vegetation. Don't blame the trees, blame the continued use of coal, oil & gas, & Industrial Agriculture. But don't worry guys you just blame the trees. Luxon will call it severe weather when it fact it was just another climate disaster that his policies are causing.
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