New walking track a great asset for region – and New Zealand
On Saturday I took part in the opening of the Pukeatua Track, a great new walking track running from Otaki Forks to Waikanae.
This is part of ‘Te Araroa’, the national walkway running the length of New Zealand from Cape Reinga to Bluff.
The section we opened on Saturday is one of the last remaining parts. It covers 14km and takes about seven hours to walk, although some fit trampers told me they did it in five hours!
It runs through some beautiful countryside and will be a great attraction for day trampers. Those who are really keen can tackle the five day tramp from Levin to Otaki Forks, which in places is high up in the Tararuas.
The Minister of Conservation, Kate Wilkinson officially opened the trail. DOC staff have worked hard on this with the support of local Te Araroa Trust volunteers. Hundreds of these volunteers around the country have driven this project, with the goal of creating a continuous 3000km walkway the length of New Zealand.
Local landowners John and Mary Carter also deserve a big ‘thank you’ by agreeing to provide access across part of their land near Waikanae.
Last month we also had the official opening of Whareroa farm which is another great asset for our region. It has walking, mountain biking and horse-riding tracks, and a working farm.
In other local conservation news, an action plan has been launched to clean up the Manawatu River.
The Manawatu River Leaders' Forum is made up of industry, environmental groups, iwi and local government. They’ve come up with six areas that need to be addressed, which represents an important first step.
The Minister of the Environment, Nick Smith attended the launch in Foxton this week and encouraged everyone to work together on this project.
As I outlined recently, progress is finally happening at Lake Horowhenua with Horowhenua Lake trustees and members of the Lake Domain appointed. The Domain Board have their first meeting in years coming up very soon which is positive news.
Spraying of the lake for the noxious purple loosestrife weed has finished and the nearby Hokio stream is now being cleaned.
It’s great to see the efforts of so many local volunteers who are making a real difference in all of these exciting projects.