A Whanganui River tourism attraction will be out of operation for the next three months as the facility is repaired after being badly damaged by the recent floods.
The Bridge to Nowhere Photo: Wikicommons
The Whanganui Journey walk was washed out last month by the biggest flood the awa has experienced in recorded history.
Department of Conservation Whanganui Services Manager George Taylor said it was lucky the flood did not happen during the peak period from October onwards.
"It's never a fortunate time, but it's happened at the down-time of the [tourist] season so we have minimal numbers of people accessing these areas," Mr Taylor said.
"There is damage to the Whanganui Journey, which is a great walk, and the Mangapurua track which is a section of the mountain-to-sea cycleway at the moment.
"But, our focus is to get these facilities up and running in time for the start of the Whanganui Journey season on the 1st of October."
In the meantime, the Wanganui District Council has closed the River Road which is preventing any tourists from visiting the area.
The closure also includes the Parapara Road section of State Highway 4 that links Whanganui City to the central plateau.