That's a good decision about private access. I guess people can still hike around the Queen's Chain to some nice rock platform, but I don't believe that's an issue. After all, they will have to carry everything in and out on their backs. Good on them if they're that keen.

What you have to watch though is some smarty pants saying it's public access from over yonder (a 2km walk over sharp rocks at low tide) but this nice land owner said we could take our 4wds (with our 2 tonne of burley) in here and set up camp the night before. In other words, we didn't actually require public access to fish here, so we're within the rule. So how the rule is worded and elaborated on is important. Other people could simply go through private land without asking. It's not always clear to me what is and isn't private access along some of the coast around the Te Kaha area.

If the contest is a single day-night-day session, and I believe it will be, people fishing beaches only will have a chance. In the past, organisers have set boundaries for day 2 that included the rocks and in the interests of safety made it daylight fishing only. I've always disagreed with that. In the BOP, that makes a beach fisher uncompetitive.