Fiordland Advocate - Cycle options 2014

From the Fiordland Advocate 7 August 2014 Page 17

CYCLING OPTIONS IDENTIFIED

A study into Te Anau and Environs Cycling Opportunities has been released as the community strives to identify the most beneficial options for the area.

Last Year the Te Anau Community Board and Destination Fiordland identified the growing interest and demand in cycling opertunities for Te Anau and its environs, and a need to Identify associated opportunities and challenges.

Venture Southland commissioned Envisage New Zealand consultants from Dunedin to undertake the 'The Te Anau and Environs Cycling Oppertunities' study.

The study has considered existing cycling experiences and their development, and a raft of potential new ones that are undeveloped, and found that the area does not have a great selection of cycling experiences.

The riding availability in town is disjointed and much of the road infrastructure is not bike-freindly.
off-road cycling is limited too, the report says.

Critically, the vast Fiordland National Park is completely out of bounds and could be for 6-10 years,
the likely time frame for a change to the park's management plan.

There is plenty of potential for a meaningful and valuable cycling network to be created in the Te Anau area, particularly a Te Ana-Manapouri Cycleway, which the report identifies as the single best cycling opportunity in the study area and the only one considered "powerful' enough to put the area on the map as a cycling destination.

Additional riding experiences are suggested down the true left of the Upper Waiau River to the complement the Te Anau-Manapouri Cycleway.
Suitable connections from Mavora Lakes to the Te Anau Basin and, in the longer term to Te Ana Downs should also be investigated, the report says.

A presentation of the study's findings will (was) be held on Wednesday August 13th from 7pm at the Fiordland Health Centre Community Room.

Orgainiser: suzanne@venturesouthland.co.nz

What's Up with DOC? - Fiordland Trails Trust

Posted 3rd June 2014 to the Fiordland Advocate Newspaper Te Anau NZ

Thank you Fiordland Advocate for Writing about the Struggle we have had in the Fiordland Trails Trust with the Department of Conservation..
It’s not really clear cut what goes on in DOC they are a bit of a dysfunctional Family at times many of them are Wonderful People, some are racked with Paranoia,
some are just too overworked trying to keep the system going, they are a big old Family and they try and lookout for each other... But they are living under a tight budget and there are no performance incentives, in-fact the opposite is observed to be true. Some Cheeky People even compare the Department to the NZ Railways of old.
However that is not their fault, it is something inflicted on them from above, handed down from Wellington.

As for getting community projects done in Fiordland, it is to Wellington we must complain as they just set a new decree that they want more Community joint ventures with the Department. Nick Smith is the Guy we need to make friends with. He just stopped Queenstown from expanding into Fiordland so maybe he hopes Te Anau can do a few tricks of it’s own.

Published Titled Dysfuctional Family Page 6  5th June 2014

DOC scuttles cycle track hopes ?

Brendan Mc Bryde Fiordland Advocate 29th May 2014  (Front Page)

A Te Anau to Manapouri cycle track has been thwarted until at least 2017, after seven years of planning.

The Fiordland Trails Trust held it's annual general meeting last week where shocked attendees heard that a partial review of the Fiordland National Park Management Plan they were counting on would no longer be happening.

The management plan stipulates that bikes can only be used on formed roads, so any tracks built would only be accessible on foot. This is not able to be addressed by the Conservation Management Strategy (CMS), which is currently being redrafted.

Fiordland Trails Trust acting chairman Steve Hoskins said that since the group's creation in 2007 its main priority had always been to open a bike trail from Manapouri to Te Anau. Until recently trustees believed that the Department of Conservation (DOC) was on board with respect to its statutory documents.

A $15.000 community board funded feasibility study had already looked at the three main options for the low gradient, family-friendly track along the eastern side of the Waiau River Dr Hoskins said.

"Where we are at a week ago was to have a DOC management agreement nearly ready to sign, and the CMS had been submitted on." he said. "What the draft CMS says is that they committed to doing a partial plan change. what I now understand is that they won't be doing that partial plan change."

The national park management plan was not due for an official review until 2017, and previous reviews had taken up to five years he said.

"We will have to rethink where we target our energies." Dr Hoskins said. "A floatpane can fly overhead, a jet boat can zoom past on the lake, a hunter can let his gun off 500 metres away, but my daughter can't ride her bike."

DOC spokeswoman Beth Masser said that funding  for a partial review of the Fiordland National Park
Management Plan had been internally requested on more than one occasion. but it was repeatedly denied.

"It's a frustrating time for the community and we share the frustration, but we have to act lawfully at the end of the day. Our role goes wider than any single interest ." Ms Masser Said.

Te Anau Community Board member Rachel Cockburn said that after seven years of work the rug has been pulled out from everyone involved.

"So Much work, and feasibility studies, really good commitment from previous trustees."

While cycling in some parts of the national park like thew Kepler Track would be more controversial,
the CMS would demonstrate that the public opinion was behind a Te Anau Manapouri link. Mrs Cockburn said.

"I haven't seen the document yet, but we understand that,yes, there is a bit of contention about cycling on the Kepler, but we understand that there was absolutely nobody against cycling through that little bit on the east side of the river,"

"We knew we had to be patient, but to me it is just heartbreaking."
she said. "We're going to meet in June to discuss what we do next."

Former Southland Conservation Board member Robin McNeill said leadership and vision for the cycle trail was lost with the DOC restructuring last year.

"There's no one left in DOC to do much of that anymore. the CMS is running years behind because it's all being run out of Christchurch."

If you go to the Southland conservancy office now it's a bit of a ghost town."

While DOC's statutory documents were a balancing act between flexibility and guidance for local groups, they were currently failing at both. Mr McNeill said.

I am not very happy with the new Conservation Management Strategies because they seem to be trying to be all things to all people and achieving nothing for anyone." Mr McNeill said.

"The view of the board was that cycling on the eastern side wasn't a big deal."

Southland District Council Mararoa -Waimea representative Alistair Jukes said such a trail would be an icon for New Zealand and the hurdles didn't make sense.

"What really bugged me with the two [community board ] meetings that we've had is that we've got a whole lot of really enthusiastic people and there's people around in the community that would go and get these projects started . But here we just seem to be stuck with this DOC problem."

It would take very little to upgrade the walking tracks that already existed on the riverside. Mr Jukes Said.

"Having a track through there is not going to make one iota of difference to the bush."

Fiordland Trails Trust - Oct 21st '13

From the Meeting of 21st October 2013 in Te Anau

In Breif, the Trust is waiting for the Department of Conservation to regoup after thier traumatic reshuffle
and get an agreement sorted to start construction of an upgraded trail from Rainbow Reach Bridge to Manapouri Township  or redefine the Existing Walking Trail from Te Anau to the Golf Course as a Multi Purpose Cycle Trail.

The Trust has also made a provision for Associate Members to be invited to join the trust from the Community, So if any one wants to donate time, equiptment, skills or Money they are welcome to come on board.

The Local elections have returned Community Board Members who are in favour the Manapouri Te Anau Cycle Trail project and the New Mayor has been breifed.

The big Headache with the District Council is that they are dedicated to a finacial Blowout on the Ill-fated 'Round the Mountain Cycle way that will cost more than 6 times more than the Manapouri Te Anau Trail just to get the last section finnished.

It was also noted at the Meeting that Venture Southland is no longer the Dynamic Orgainisation it once was probably due to financial fatigue, I Figure in part from too many over budget grand Ideas like Round the Mountain.

Manapouri Te Anau Trail Volunteers

A MESSAGE from Aaron Nicholson founder of the Fiordland Trails Trust concept

If you are a Member of the Comunity that likes to get stuck into something that will benefit your community you can just go for it !

Right Now there is a Network of Walking Trails from The Rainbow Reach Swing Bridge to the Township of Manapouri that needs your attention.

Next time you want to spend a day or afternoon out enjoying Fiordland National Park remember you can help keep our local track open, they are used by locals and are not maintained by DOC

There is allways a Problem with Windfalls and Fallen Vegatation, that can be removed by volunteers without direction from the Government or the CMS.

Just be mindfull that although the Supply Bay Area seems like our back yard it is still Fiordland National Park and should be treated with respect as it is every bit as dangerous if you leave the Trail Network.

The Area is worth a visit for Birdlife, Unique Forest and Scenic Vistas of Beaches, River, Mountains and Lake.

Fiordland Advocate - Skate Board Luge Idea.

Posted 13th September 2013 to the Fiordland Advocate Te Anau

I recently told an Invercargill Newspaper about an idea I had For Manapouri Some Years Ago... A Skateboard Luge Track but like Queenstown’s Sky Line Luge,
With a scenic backdrop... It stands to reason that Te Anau would be an ideal place for such an attraction as well as the Likes of Bluff...

Two Places stick out as Ideal Locations, Lookout Hill 6 km’s out of Te Anau on the Road to Milford Sound Would be a definite Starter and the un named Hill Between Pleasant Bay and Te Anau Downs would have a perfect out look..  Just think another reason for people to stay in "the Basin" for another night...


The Queenstown Luge is a great concept but a I have seen kids in Germany skating along half concrete pipe water races and having a great time of it..
Perhaps we could get creative here too...

Southland Express - New Cycleways 2013

Letter to the Editor Southland Express posted: 21 Aug 2013

Good on the Express for highlighting the need for Cycle Trails in the Southland Area...
As a Member of the Local Trails Trust I should point out that There is absolutely no need to convert any walking tracks to
Cycle ways! There are miles of designated areas that just need a modest amount of Infrastructure to make them desirable
For cycling..

For the mere price of just one trophy Home we could have a World Class Trail linking Te Anau to Manapouri through a
Beautiful Forest Landscape along River and Lake Shores that supports just as much Bird life as other part of the National Park.

The forgotten Percy Pass Road and the Borland Road only need a bit of linking digger work / shelters and they can allow cyclists a Fiordland Experience second to none,
Indeed there has been a local industry waiting to use this National Asset since the 1980s. Again, only the price of a modest house in Auckland.

Of Course The Absolute Cheery on the top of them all would be a Hollyford Haast Paper Road Cycleway

But for some Reason when our new Prime Minister said he was handing out Money For Cycle Trails the Department of Conservation forgot to put their hand up.