Regional Park rangers have wasted no time in opening a track between the lookout overlooking the Gap and the newly acquired Byers block of land.

It is now easy to walk from Piha beach to the Gap at high tide and locals and visitors are taking advantage of the new purchase.

The road from Piha Road down to that Gap has been metalled so that park rangers can access the new area. This road will not be accessible for visitors, but may be used for walking down to the Gap.

The regional parks team has also been consulting Surf Life Saving Northern Region about water safety, and has had experts on site to look for the presence of any rare plants.

How to manage the “tennis courts” is a subject of discussion, as is the issue of how to keep visitors away from cliff edges. A track down Gentle Annie to enable a coastal edge walk for the Hillary Trail may be sometime coming, as it will need careful planning and funds from the Auckland Council.

A reminder to visitors, dogs are entirely prohibited from this end of the beach and should not be taken along Tasman Look-Out Track nor along the beach past Pakiti Rock. This is because there are nesting penguins and other wildlife.