This large slip blocked the road to Milford Sound in Fiordland. Photo / Supplied
A 500-tonne boulder that crashed onto Milford Road in Fiordland last week was blown apart with explosives today. Enormous boulders were brought down by a landslide on Friday, blocking the only road to the popular tourist area. The slip had covered about 200 metres of the road. The biggest rock had now been successfully blasted and cleared away, along with other rocks. New Zealand Transport Authority Southland area manager Milford Sound Lodge manager Japke Doodeman said yesterday the closure meant the lodge was losing about 30 people a day.Mr Robinson said Milford residents were well set up to live without the road.
"But considering all the boat companies and kayak companies that [usually] have buses coming in on a daily basis as well, it's quite a lot more than that."
There were 26 people staying at the lodge when the road was closed. Most had been flown out of the area.
Milford was "regularly" cut off, and the business was prepared when it happened, but the weekend slip was "massive", she said.
"Over winter it does happen a bit more often, definitely towards the spring season because that's when the avalanche risk gets higher."
- APNZ
Wow, did you see the explosion??
ReplyDeleteNo. They closed down the road for a couple of days while they debated what to do.
ReplyDelete