Walking New Zealand August 2024

Walk talk Twelve years ago, one of the Outdoor Access Commission (OAC) regional field advisors (RFA) attended a community meeting with Wenita Forest to discuss access to its Otago forests. The company owns land that is adjacent to popular tramping routes across Dunedin City Council Water Catchment land and Department of Conservation land. Wenita was planning to introduce a permit system for members of the public who wanted access to its property. The OAC RFA and others at the meeting advocated that trampers should not need a permit to walk above the treeline, on land where there are no commercial forests. The first person to propose this elegant solution was David Barnes, who subsequently also became an RFA. Wenita agreed to this, and, as can be seen from this photo…

Work is about to begin to refresh the popular Esplanade walkway in Sumner. From 8 July 2024, Christchurch City Council is restoring the rock seawall between the walkway and the beach, and updating the walkway seating on the seaward side of the concrete seawall. The Council is also investigating putting an accessible ramp from the walkway to the beach. Rupert Bool, Acting Head of Parks, says the changes are coming as a result of a 2019 assessment of the seawall. “We found that about half of the seawall – some 600 metres – had eroded and needs to be topped up with more rocks to get it back to its original height, which will mean better protection from swells and storms. “All the bench seats are in an average to…

Walk talk In 2018, the Overseas Investment Office required Higgins Contractors to consult with the Outdoor Access Commission to determine what public access could be provided over Higgins land acquired beside the then-named Tauherenikau River. The Outdoor Access Commission recommended public walking access to the river, and that walkway now exists. They have recently registered it as an Access Strip Easement. The owners have built a small carpark, a stile and fences to help people get down to the river and erect a sign. Interestingly, since the first opened this case, the river has changed its name to the correctly spelt Tauwharenīkau River. This follows the enactment of the Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua Claims Settlement Act 2022. Tauwharenīkau was the original name given by Haunui a Nanaia, who…

It's time to tread the boards! When rain clouds are on the horizon or a deluge has left puddles in your favourite park, there's no need to let the weather stop you from enjoying the best of the region's outdoor environments. Auckland has many great walking trails designed to adapt to our rainy climate, with beautiful boardwalks that allow you to explore the outdoors while keeping your shoes dry. Boardwalks also improve accessibility, allowing wheelchair and pram access to parts of our parks, meaning more Aucklanders can enjoy nature. Boardwalks also protect our vulnerable environments to diseases such as kauri dieback. One of the most beautiful things about Tāmaki Makaurau is the lush landscape created by our unique wet climate. These five boardwalks will help you explore these outdoor jewels,…

New Zealand Walks The walking tracks in the Maitai Valley Dam, 11kms from Nelson are all very well marked. We started along the Copper Mine Trail walking through kanuka and along the Maitai River before turning off onto the Maitai Cave Trail through beech forest and along the Sclanders Creek that you have to cross as there is no bridge. This was not hard for us to cross as the water was shallow and so very clear, our boots got a little wet but this was OK. The beech forest and the bush was just so very, very green even though it had been a dry hot summer in the region. We had a bit of a scramble now and then up the hill but it was worth every step…

New Zealand Walks The Bay of Plenty Region, often abbreviated to BOP, is situated around the body of water of the same name, which stretches 260 kilometres from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. Called Te Moana-a-Toi (the Sea of Toi) in the Māori language, after Toi, an early ancestor, the name “Bay of Plenty” was bestowed by James Cook in 1769 when he noticed the abundant food supplies at several Māori villages there, in stark contrast to observations he had made earlier in Poverty Bay. The coastline from Waihi Beach in the west to Opape is defined as sandy coast, while from Opape to Cape Runaway is rocky shore. Sizeable harbours are located at Tauranga, Whakatāne and Ohiwa. Major estuaries include Maketu, Little…