Work to upgrade the path around Te Moutere Tuatara Island in Queens Park is set to begin next week.

The current gravel path at the tuatara enclosure will be replaced with a poured rubber surface, to be installed over the course of March and April. Work will begin on Monday 10 March.

There will be temporary closures at Te Moutere while the work is under way, with the closures clearly signposted.

Invercargill City Council Manager Parks and Recreation Caroline Rain said Te Moutere had proven extremely popular since it opened and the new path would be more durable, low maintenance and provide better accessibility for visitors.

“Based on our assessment of the path’s performance and feedback from the community, we have decided to upgrade the surface to make it smoother, more accessible and more durable to withstand the large numbers of visitors who come to the enclosure,” she said.

“The tuatara here, including the world-famous Henry, are ambassadors for our parks and a drawcard for Invercargill.

“We want everyone to be able to access these precious taonga species in our park.”

Stones and other materials from the old path will be stored and reused in future projects.

Rain said Te Moutere would only be closed to the public as required by the contractors.

“We’ll try and keep the enclosure open to the public whenever possible during construction.”

Visitors are encouraged to download the Antenno app for the latest updates on temporary closures at Te Moutere over the next two months.