Work starts next week on re-opening the Takiroa Maori rock art site near Duntroon, closed for 15 months after a major collapse of the limestone cliff above it.
Heavy rain in May last year, which caused widespread flooding in North Otago, also brought down hundreds of tonnes of limestone, ranging from rubble to massive blocks, making the site unsafe and closing it to the public.
Despite that, some visitors ignored the "closed" signs to see the rock art.
Since then, the Ngai Tahu Maori Rock Art Trust had commissioned geotechnical reports on the safety of the cliff face and investigated how to clear it so it could be reopened.
Doing that is expected to cost about $40,000, which includes geotechnical reports prepared in the months after the fall.
Trust curator Amanda Symon said yesterday the first phase of the work was to start clearing the limestone rubble from the site on Monday, which should take two or three days.
The big blocks of limestone would be left in place to weather and become part of the landscape, and also remain as a signal to people the site was a rock outcrop where there could be rock falls.
"That is part and parcel of any cliff face and a natural process people need to be aware of," she said.
The cleared rubble would then be used to create a new pathway from the parking area beside State Highway 83 around the larger fallen blocks. Landscaping would be repaired or reinstated and fences repaired.
One piece of the protective fencing across the rock art was pulled down in the rock fall, but had been replaced soon after the fall.
Most of the work was aimed at managing the flow of visitors to the site.
Mrs Symon hoped the site would be reopened within two weeks, although work might run into a third week, in time to cater for Rugby World Cup visitors and the peak of the tourist season.
Restoring the site was also important for the local community.
Reopening the site had been delayed by the need to get geotechnical reports and raise funding for the project.
Having to close the site had been "a real blow", considering the amount of work done to improve it about 18 months before the rock face collapsed.
The geotechnical reports done in the months after the collapse had showed the rock face was relatively stable, although it needed to be monitored, Mrs Symon said.
