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The first stage of a new cycling and walking trail in the Kaipara district has been officially opened, a 30-kilometre route between Dargaville and Kaihu comprising two off-road trail sections currently linked by low-volume roads.
Once complete, the Kaihu Valley Trail will allow cyclists and walkers to wend their way through forest and farmland and along the Kaihu River, from Dargaville to Donnelly’s Crossing, a distance of some 45km. It will largely follow the historic rail line built in 1896 to service the kauri industry.
“This is an investment in the region,” said Northland MP Willow-Jean Prime, who joined Kaipara District Council deputy mayor Jonathan Larsen in cutting the ribbon at a June 10 ceremony hosted by Ahikiwi Marae in Kaihu.
“It is good for locals and their wellbeing and also for visitors who come to the region, added Prime, who is also conservation minister.
After Kaumātua Poihakena Panapa and Reverend Tuha Panapa blessed the trail, members of the local community joined iwi, the project team and dignitaries watching as 150 local cyclists crossed the new Ahikiwi Bridge, one of two on the trail, built with a $600,000 contribution from Waka Kotahi.
According to Larsen the district council also obtained funding through the government’s COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund, with ministers overseeing the Infrastructure Reference Group granting the council $4 million.
Larsen thanked local people, the marae along the route, the project team and co-funders who have worked with council to make the project a reality.
The track will form part of existing and still-underway trails traversing the region, including the Kauri Coast Cycleway Heartland Ride, which runs southward from Rawene on the Hokianga Harbour – and which itself links to the Twin Coast Cycle Trail from the Bay of Islands to Hokianga, one of the 23 Great Rides of New Zealand.
The Kaihu Valley Trail will also form part of the Ancient Kauri Trail, which aims eventually to stretch from Ōmāpere, also on the Hokianga Harbour, to the Mangawhai Coast.
“This celebration is not an ending,” said Councillor Babe Kapa of the Far North District Council, acknowledging the trail’s Northland-wide connections. “The ending is when we have connected the full trail across Northland and share the resource of tourism. This trail will bring wealth to the community and a relationship with tourists.”
With stage one now open, the council is seeking funding to complete the trail.
Trail map: https://www.kaipara.govt.nz/uploads/parks/Stage%20one%20trail%20map.pdf
