Wānaka resident wants cycle tracks upgraded

Wānaka resident Dave Kerr has called for Department of Conservation-managed cycle tracks between Wānaka, Lake Hāwea and Luggate to be upgraded to the standard of the Lake Dunstan Trail at Cromwell and Queenstown trails.

Mr Kerr said repairs were badly needed on the Hāwea River Track from Camphill Bridge to Hāwea River, while the Upper Clutha River Track between Albert Town and Luggate was badly overgrown and only rideable for very good or expert cyclists.

Department of Conservation Central Otago operations manager Nikki Holmes said Doc did not have a plan to upgrade the shared cycle and walking tracks to cycle-specific standards, and has had to prioritise where to put staff and resources.

The Upper Clutha Track and the Hāwea River Track were managed as walking tracks and used by a range of users including cyclists, she said

"Doc is happy to work with the local community if they wish to upgrade and manage the tracks. Upper Clutha Tracks Trust have already expressed an interest in upgrading the Hāwea River Track," she said this week.

Mr Kerr said a uniform standard should be applied to all tracks to meet expectations and skills of cycle tourists, children, and other users, such as people pushing baby buggies.

"Much is made in the media that Wānaka has great cycle trails ... Trails now being built are made to a uniform standard and the Dunstan Trail and upgraded Queenstown trails are testament to this.

"However, the trails around Wānaka seem to be neglected and the trail standard is not what the people now cycling the trails throughout New Zealand are expecting.

"We cannot promote these trails to visitors or the local enthusiasts because of the condition," Mr Kerr told the Wānaka Sun this week.

Mrs Holmes said the Upper Clutha Track had had less maintenance than usual after last winter’s snowfall, because Doc had been focusing instead on clearing dangerous windfall over most of its tracks, and other work had taken priority.

"Predator control operations for two of Otago’s rare skinks and assisting with the rodent incursion on the nationally significant biodiversity hotspot of Mauikatau / Resolution Island has also reduced the staff capacity available for local track work in and around Wānaka," she said.

Wānaka Community Board member John Wellington, who is also an Upper Clutha Tracks Trust member, confirmed at a community board meeting yesterday the trust wanted to work with Doc to upgrade the Hāwea River Trail section between Camphill Bridge and the Hāwea River.

He also confirmed the tracks trust was "actively looking" at upgrading the Glendhu Bay track between Waterfall Creek and Damper Bay.

Queenstown Lakes deputy mayor Quentin Smith, of Wānaka, said yesterday that significant work on the Gladstone Track between John Creek and Lake Hāwea town centre had been completed recently, "which is great for the Hāwea community".