Fragile Lake Wanaka tree could be destroyed because of tourists’ Instagram photos

We’ve seen people damage artworks, nature, national parks, even hurt animals just to take photos for social media. Recently, it has been happening around Lake Wanaka in New Zealand. A photogenic tree in the lake is insanely popular on Instagram. There’s even a hashtag #thatwanakatree, with almost 20K posts at the moment. Tourists are visiting the popular location and climbing the tree to take photos. Because of this, the brittle willow could be destroyed.

The popular tree is a crack willow, and by the very name you can conclude how brittle it is. Lonely Planet writes that the tree even lost a limb before Christmas. Reportedly, there are concerns that “its deterioration could continue without efforts to stop it.”

• NEW ZEALAND DAY 4 • Today we said goodbye to Queenstown 🙁 But towards Wanaka we go! We stopped by Arrowtown where we learnt about the experience of the Chinese in the gold rush and explored the town. Wish it had retained more of the history but it was a cute stopoff place. After lunch we drove to the top of Coronet Peak (a skifield) before arriving at Wanaka to see thatWanakatree!

A post shared by Peggy (@ifpegscouldfly) on Jan 20, 2018 at 4:01am PST

Climbing this tree will soon be banned! Take care and protect it for future photographers. No harm was done to this tree to make this shot. ##ThatWanakaTree #samyanglensglobal #milkyway #stars #epic #selfie #wanaka #lakewanaka #nzmustdo #protectthetree

A post shared by Mike MacKinven (@mack_photography_nz) on Jan 18, 2018 at 3:46am PST

Browsing through Instagram hashtag #thatwanakatree, I stumbled upon several photos with people leaning against the tree and sitting among its branches. It’s a pretty small tree, so I believe it makes it even easier to damage. One user complained about the tourists who walk out to the tree and climb it for the photos. And according to Lonely Planet, the local tourism board plans to fight against this trend.

I am a wee bit angry… just had a call from my Mum who told me that water levels are so low at Lake Wanaka that tourists are walking out and damaging #thatwanakatree by climbing it for photos. I took this pic last year and even though this tourist was discouraged by others, he still went out there. It’s a #willowtree and #brittle. Branches are easily snapped off. Be respectful. 🌿 #angry #stupidity #idiots #vandal #disrespectful #terribletourists #tourists #environment #wanaka #lakewanaka #newzealand #nz #purenewzealand #lake #nature #travel #visitnz #landscape #travelnewzealand #travelphotography #visitnewzealand #lonely_tree_love #ig_shotz_trees #blue #instadaily #kathandherphotos #protectthetree

A post shared by 🌸 K A T H R Y N 🌸 (@chantmsk) on Jan 29, 2018 at 6:46pm PST

Tim Errington, the arboricultural officer for the Queenstown Lakes District Council, told Lonely Planet that there would soon be warning signs near the tree. They should discourage the tourists from climbing; they will be written in English and Mandarin and also contain a graphic. He explained that they want to avoid putting up a fence around the tree because it would affect the “beauty associated with its stunning backdrop.” However, if the tourists keep ignoring the signs and the tree suffers more damage, they will consider more substantial solutions.

[via DPReview; lead image credits: Poliocretes]