An agreement ensuring continued public access to the iconic flat rocks of Lake Taupō’s Whakamoenga Point has been formally signed off.

The Whakamoenga Point Lakeshore Reserve incorporates the lake’s nearby Māori rock carvings, frequently used in material marketing the Taupō district, though there is no walking access to the carvings.

At a signing ceremony at Nukuhau’s Rauhoto Marae on Friday, the agreement between the Taupō District Council and Rangatira Point Block Incorporation was hailed by both parties as an opportunity for further collaboration.

The lease, which will ensure access to the point via Rangatira Point walkway, replaces an arrangement the Department of Conservation had with Māori owners.

It meant everybody could keep enjoying the area, said trust chairman Tom Loughlin.

The future was exciting, he said, with native trees to be planted next year in spaces created by recent wilding pine control operations.

“So these big podocarps, these big conifers can start reaching for the sky and then our great-great-great-great-grandkids will be able to enjoy them…

“It’s a long game, and it’s time that will add value to the place … It’s something you can’t build overnight, but then there are opportunities around what facilities look like and things like that.”

Future additions might involve storyboards detailing how the area got its name and points of historical interest, Loughlin said.

Taupō mayor David Trewavas thanked the trust on behalf of not just the people of Taupō, he said, “but the people of the nation, to be able to have the use of the land”.

The process could provide a model for other agreements, said both Trewavas, and councillor Kevin Taylor who worked on the council subcommittee arranging the lease.

The council will pay $63,000 per annum in the 10-year agreement that covers 18.5 hectares (with renewal clauses for two more 10-year periods).

While it indicated last year it was not renewing its lease due to budget constraints, DOC has said it would continue to maintain the track and help co-ordinate the volunteer groups that carried out predator control.

Credit: Stuff.co.nz