New Zealand’s North Island is reeling after deadly landslides tore through the popular Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park and a nearby residential area, raising anxious questions for would-be visitors at the height of the Southern Hemisphere summer.

As rescue crews continue to search for the missing and local authorities move to secure unstable slopes and flooded roads, travellers are asking whether it is still safe to visit one of the world’s most sought-after long-haul destinations.

More News

What happened at Mount Maunganui and across the Bay of Plenty

The landslide that has focused global attention on New Zealand’s storm-hit east coast struck late on the morning of 22 January at Mount Maunganui, a volcanic headland known locally as Mauao and overlooking one of the country’s busiest holiday beaches. After days of record-breaking rain, a section of the saturated hillside collapsed onto the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park, engulfing campervans, tents, vehicles and a shower and toilet block. Witnesses described hearing a sound like rolling thunder before seeing the slope give way and debris sweeping through the packed campground.

Emergency services quickly declared a major incident, deploying specialist urban search and rescue teams, sniffer dogs and heavy machinery in an effort to reach people believed to be trapped beneath meters of mud and rubble. Police have confirmed that the number of people unaccounted for is in the single digits, including children, though the exact tally is complicated by the fact that some campers left hurriedly without checking out.

Elsewhere in the Bay of Plenty, a separate landslide hit a home in the Welcome Bay area earlier in the day, destroying the property and killing two people. Further north, a driver is missing after being swept away while attempting to cross a flooded river near Warkworth, underscoring the wider impact of the severe weather across the North Island’s east coast. Local officials have described scenes of destruction in some communities as resembling a war zone, with homes buried, roads washed out and thousands left without power.

The January storm system, which unleashed hundreds of millimetres of rain over several days, has triggered multiple states of emergency and follows a run of increasingly intense weather events attributed in part to a warming climate. For now, attention is fixed on the search effort at Mount Maunganui, where police have cordoned off the area, evacuated remaining campers to a nearby surf club and urged the public to stay away.

Current local restrictions and closures in the Mount Maunganui area

In the immediate aftermath of the landslides, authorities moved quickly to restrict access to vulnerable areas and critical transport links. Tauranga City Council has closed public access to Mauao itself, including its popular walking tracks, after engineers warned that the mountain has been significantly destabilised by the prolonged deluge. Fencing is being installed around high‑risk zones and security staff are patrolling to prevent people from entering the slip area while assessments continue.

The devastated Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park is shut indefinitely. Management have told guests with upcoming bookings that they will be contacted directly once staff are able to safely assess the full extent of damage and determine when, or if, part of the site can reopen this season. In practical terms, travellers should assume the campground will remain closed for some time and make alternative arrangements.

Roads across the Bay of Plenty remain heavily affected. The New Zealand Transport Agency has closed the State Highway 2 Eastern Link in the Tauranga to Paengaroa corridor due to surface flooding, with all eastbound and westbound traffic diverted through the coastal suburb of Papamoa. The detour is causing substantial congestion, and drivers are being advised to delay non‑essential trips or expect long delays. Several smaller local roads are also blocked by slips, fallen trees and flooding, with police and Civil Defence repeatedly stressing that people should not travel in the region unless absolutely necessary.

Power outages continue to affect parts of the North Island’s east coast, along with intermittent disruption to mobile coverage. Local emergency management officials have asked both residents and visitors to conserve water, stay off closed beaches and avoid entering floodwaters. Travellers already in the Bay of Plenty should monitor council and Civil Defence announcements, follow detours and be prepared for sudden changes to road conditions as clean‑up work proceeds.

National travel picture: disruption versus wider safety

While the images emerging from Mount Maunganui and nearby communities are dramatic, they do not reflect conditions across the whole of New Zealand. The severe storm has primarily affected the eastern side of the North Island, including Northland, Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty and Gisborne, where flooding and landslides have prompted local states of emergency, evacuations and infrastructure damage.

By contrast, popular centres such as Queenstown, Wanaka and Fiordland in the South Island, and many parts of the central and lower North Island, have reported far more routine summer conditions. Domestic flights and the main international gateways at Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch are operating broadly as normal, aside from occasional weather‑related delays. National tourism bodies and major tour operators say that the bulk of visitor itineraries remain unaffected and trips are continuing, albeit with adjustments for those scheduled to pass through the hardest‑hit coastal corridors.

New Zealand’s own authorities have not issued any blanket warning against travel within the country, but they are strongly discouraging movement into the storm‑affected regions until assessments are complete. Civil Defence has emphasised that roads may look passable but can be undermined by floodwaters and hidden subsidence. For those planning self‑drive holidays in the North Island over the coming days, flexibility will be crucial, with alternative inland routes or revised schedules often required.

The storms have also coincided with one of New Zealand’s busiest travel periods, creating additional pressure on accommodation and transport for those forced to rebook at short notice. Travellers who had scheduled stays in Mount Maunganui or the surrounding coastal communities are being urged to contact hotels, rental operators or holiday parks directly to discuss options rather than attempting to travel into the area in person.

International travel advisories and what foreign visitors are being told

As of 22 January, the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has not issued any specific warning against travel to New Zealand in light of the Mount Maunganui landslides. Its standing guidance for the country remains in place, advising visitors to follow the instructions of local authorities and the National Emergency Management Agency in the event of natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic activity, storms or landslides.

Other major source markets, including the United States, Australia and Canada, likewise continue to class New Zealand as a generally safe destination, while highlighting the need for vigilance around severe weather and geological hazards. These advisories typically underline that New Zealand experiences frequent heavy rain events and that road closures, detours and flight disruptions are relatively common during the storm season.

Crucially for those concerned about trip cancellations, governments have not moved to an overarching recommendation that citizens avoid all but essential travel to New Zealand. That threshold, if reached, tends to trigger automatic rights to refunds on many package holidays and may be required by certain travel insurance policies before they will cover voluntary cancellations. In the present situation, standard advice is for travellers to check directly with airlines, tour operators and accommodation providers if they believe their plans may be affected by localised damage or road closures.

Consular officials do, however, urge visitors already in affected regions to register their presence, keep relatives informed of their movements and maintain access to key documents such as passports, insurance details and emergency contact numbers. They also stress that tourists should avoid putting themselves at additional risk by attempting to sightsee near damaged infrastructure, unstable slopes or closed coastal tracks in search of dramatic photographs.

Expert view: understanding landslide and weather risks in New Zealand

Geologists and hazard specialists note that landslides, known in New Zealand as slips, are a recurring feature of life in a mountainous country with steep hills, volcanic geology and pockets of weak, ash‑derived soils. While the devastation at Mount Maunganui is extreme, experts say it is consistent with a pattern of slopes becoming unstable after intense, prolonged rainfall. In many parts of the North Island, that rain has fallen on ground already saturated from earlier storms this summer, further increasing the likelihood of failures.

Mauao itself has a history of smaller landslides and track closures, including a lengthy shutdown in 2012 after slips damaged walking routes. Local councils have long monitored the headland and surrounding cliffs, but officials acknowledge that forecasting the precise timing and scale of individual landslides remains challenging, particularly under climate conditions that appear to be intensifying rainfall events.

New Zealand’s building codes and land‑use planning rules have, over the years, been progressively strengthened to account for natural hazards, with high‑risk slopes often zoned for restricted development or additional engineering requirements. However, many legacy properties, roads and campgrounds occupy sites established before current regulations, including low‑lying river flats and coastal margins that are now more frequently inundated. The Mount Maunganui holiday park, a long‑standing summer fixture, sits directly at the base of the mountain, close to the area that gave way.

Hazard researchers point out that tourists, particularly those renting vehicles or motorhomes, are sometimes less familiar with local warning signs, such as cracking in roadside cuttings, fresh debris on slopes or rapidly rising streams. They recommend that visitors pay close attention to MetService bulletins, Civil Defence alerts and road authority updates, and adjust plans early when red or orange warnings for heavy rain are issued for the regions they intend to visit.

How tour operators and airlines are responding

New Zealand’s tourism industry, still rebuilding from the prolonged border closures earlier in the decade, has reacted to the latest disaster with a mix of concern and reassurance. National tourism organisations and local chambers have expressed sympathy for those directly impacted in the Bay of Plenty while emphasising that the country as a whole remains open and eager to welcome visitors. Many have drawn parallels with Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023, when operators quickly rerouted itineraries away from the hardest‑hit districts while maintaining broader travel programmes.

Several major tour companies report that they are currently reconfiguring North Island routes to avoid the most affected highways and communities, substituting inland attractions or South Island experiences where necessary. Hiking, wine and culture tours that included Mount Maunganui or the Capricorn Coast are being tweaked, with guests offered alternative beach destinations or extended stays in Auckland, Rotorua or Hawke’s Bay. Group tour leaders on the ground are working closely with Civil Defence and local councils to ensure coaches do not attempt to pass through cordoned areas.

Airlines serving New Zealand, including long‑haul carriers from North America, Asia and Europe, have largely maintained normal operations, with only a small number of domestic services delayed or diverted due to localised weather or air traffic flow restrictions. Flexible rebooking policies introduced during the pandemic era remain in place on many routes, allowing passengers to alter dates or, in some cases, switch arrival airports within New Zealand if onward surface travel is disrupted.

Accommodation providers in unaffected regions, particularly in the South Island, report a spike in last‑minute enquiries from travellers seeking to move their holidays away from the North Island’s storm‑hit east. Industry leaders say this kind of intra‑country pivot illustrates both the resilience of New Zealand’s tourism offer and the importance of planning multi‑region itineraries that can be adjusted when nature intervenes.

Practical advice for travellers with upcoming trips

For those with flights to New Zealand in the coming days and weeks, the broad message from officials and industry alike is that travel remains feasible, but planning requires more diligence than usual. Prospective visitors should start by mapping their intended route against the regions most affected by the January storms. If an itinerary relies heavily on coastal driving between Auckland, the Coromandel, Bay of Plenty and Gisborne, it is sensible to expect diversions, slower travel times or the need to substitute inland highways.

Travellers who have booked stays specifically in Mount Maunganui or at the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park should contact their accommodation provider as soon as possible. The campground is currently closed, and hotels or holiday rentals in the immediate vicinity may be dealing with reduced access, staff shortages or damage. Many operators have indicated they will work with guests to find new dates or alternative properties where they can, but formal policies vary.

Those considering cancelling an entire New Zealand trip should check their travel insurance wording carefully. Because foreign ministries have not advised against travel to the country as a whole, standard policies may not automatically cover voluntary cancellations prompted by concern about the landslides. Where flights and most accommodation remain available, insurers are more likely to pay out for demonstrable, specific disruptions, such as a hotel being closed on safety grounds, a pre‑booked excursion being cancelled, or a key road being shut with no reasonable alternative.

On the ground, visitors are urged to allow extra buffer time between destinations, carry sufficient water and food for longer road journeys, and fill their fuel tanks regularly in case of detours. Authorities advise against driving at night in storm‑affected regions, when slips and flooding are harder to spot, and warn motorists never to attempt to cross flooded fords or roads, even if the water appears shallow.

So, is it safe to travel to New Zealand right now

New Zealand remains one of the world’s more stable and well‑prepared destinations when it comes to managing natural hazards. Its emergency services are experienced, its infrastructure is relatively robust and its tourism operators are used to rerouting and adapting quickly during severe weather. The tragic events at Mount Maunganui, and the wider flooding across the North Island’s east, do not change that underlying picture but provide a stark reminder that nature can impose sudden, localised risks.

For travellers prepared to stay informed, heed official warnings and show flexibility, the overall risk profile for a New Zealand holiday remains broadly comparable to previous years. Visitors who confine their travels to regions that have not been directly affected by the January storm system are unlikely to notice more than minor disruptions. Those intent on visiting the Bay of Plenty and neighbouring coastal districts in the near term should, however, be ready for closures, detours and, in some communities, a sombre atmosphere as locals focus on recovery.

The key questions for would‑be visitors are not simply whether it is safe to travel to New Zealand, but where within the country it is sensible to go in the coming weeks, and how much flexibility they can build into their plans. As rescue and recovery work continues at Mount Maunganui, authorities and tourism leaders are united in asking that travellers respect cordons, avoid putting additional strain on emergency resources and consider directing their spending toward communities that remain open and eager for visitors.

In the months ahead, the Bay of Plenty will likely look to tourism to help underpin its recovery once the immediate danger has passed and unstable slopes are secured. For now, though, the safest and most responsible way to experience New Zealand is to stay clear of the hardest‑hit areas, follow evolving local advice closely and remember that in a country defined by dramatic landscapes, conditions can change fast.