Rebirth of a New Zealand-long Foot Trail

Forest and Bird, Issue 302, 1 November 2001, Page 4

Rebirth of a New Zealand-long Foot Trail

explores progress with Te Araroa ‘long walk’.

GEOFF CHAPPLE

—GEOFF CHAPPLE

‘\ / hen I talked recently ’ to the North Shore branch of U3A about Te Araroa — the Long Path — one of its members, a Federated Mountain Clubs man, approached me afterward. ‘I notice you consistently used the word "hike" which is European, he said, ‘rather than the traditional New Zealand "tramp" I’m ‘guilty as charged’. The word ‘tramp’ has a low vowel. The articulating tongue sinks, not unlike a boot into mud, whereas with ‘hike’ it describes an upbeat loop onto the palate. For a 3000-kilometre route — the distance of the planned trail from Cape Reinga to Bluff — the difference between ‘tramp’ and ‘hike’ may be significant, particularly as regards support. According to the Hillary Commission 12 percent of men tramp, and 9 percent of women do. Yet 80 percent of women ‘walk for recreation’ and 60 percent of men do. The recreational walkers are those we believe will use Te Araroa trails. In the course of our longer objective of a trail the length of the country, Te Araroa Trust is doing small sections

that traverse farmland and coastline more often than the back country. The new trails may also help to keep tourists off the crowded ‘Seven Great Walks’ which, when you add them up, total a meagre 270 kilometres distance. They'll enable visitors to see more of the New Zealand way of life and to meet New Zealanders, with marae-, homeand farm-stays. The seven-kilometre link Te Araroa is presently planning between Pakiri and Matakana in lower Northland is an example of this kind of trail. It will go through bush over Mt Tamahunga, and give views out as far as Auckland, but it has farmland, and settlements, on either side. An 18-kilometre track we opened last December up the Waikato River, is another example. It climbs no higher than 30 metres on a couple of bluffs, and is generally an easy walk alongside the river, though with some mud in winter. It is the longest river walk around, and has some good stands of New Zealand native trees en route — the river frontage on Malcolm and Ngaire Entwisle’s

farm the best of them, with kahikatea, pukatea, and cabbage trees in abundance. New Zealanders seem to want this penetration of the countryside. A New Zealandlong trail was a goal of the nowdefunct New Zealand Walkways Commission in the 1970s, but faded then. After a quiet start in the mid-1990s Te Araroa Trust is suddenly finding its goal has considerable support. The trust’s budget is something over $200,000 for the 2001-2002 year. Trust Waikato made a generous grant to finance two trails in the Waikato, and the Far North District Council and the Tai Tokerau Maori Tourism Association is helping develop the proposed ‘Ocean to Ocean’ track from Ahipara to Kerikeri in the north. These new trails pose certain challenges, not least how Te Araroa Trust, which has had one part-time employee, will manage the major trackbuilding exercises. The trust has been feeling its way. It began by putting in a trail — mainly forest roads which the trust signposted, between Kerikeri and Waitangi in the Bay of Islands. It then set about designing a North Island trail, in consultation with local

authorities, Department of Conservation conservancies and Maori. It then publicised the North Island trail, with its 1998 stories of walking the route, stories which are still on the Internet at www. teararoa.org.nz. In 2000 though, the trust began putting in the North Island trail. The budgets since then have grown sufficiently for the trust to need competent local chapters to oversee trail planning, budgets and construction in at least two regions — Northland and Waikato. Te Araroa Trust had support from the Community Employment Group last year, and that is expected to continue in the year ahead. That includes a budget for ‘regional co-ordinators’ who get $5000 each for assisting with trail planning. Nevertheless, the New Zealand-long trail has to be a citizens effort, and we’re putting out the word now for those interested in assisting the trail, by way of forming local chapters, to get in touch.

is chief

executive of Te Araroa Trust, PO Box 5106, Wellesley Street, Auckland.