The hardest-hit areas of the Great Taste Trail have yet to be repaired following the July storm, but cyclists can now ride 80 per cent of the trail around the region.
Nelson Tasman Cycle Trails Trust administrator, Augusta van Wijk, says the coastal trail is now open all the way from Nelson to Kaiteriteri, with one detour in place, and remembering the Mapua ferry only runs during weekends at this time of year.
Still closed is Wakefield to Kohatu and much of Woodstock to Ngatimoti, with plans to have those sections open for the summer tourist season or suitable detours in place. Details of the closures are on the heartofbiking website.
“Trail operators and associated businesses are already busy taking bookings for the summer, so it’s a real positive to be able to give them certainty.
“The trail supports a wide network of small to medium-sized businesses across the region, who benefit directly from visitors using the trail, so the more we have open, the better.”
Clearing fallen trees from the second storm will take time around areas of the trail still closed, like the access to Spooners Tunnel. Forestry companies will be harvesting damaged blocks before those sections of the trail can be reopened. In the meantime, the repairs to date mean cyclists can once again commute to work safely as well as recreational cyclists heading out on rides. Until repairs were made, she says cyclists were forced to cross the Waimea River bridge on State Highway 60. Augusta says it’s thanks to the support from landowners, contractors and Tasman District Council that 80 per cent of the trail has been repaired in the past month.
So far, repair work has been covered by the trust’s extreme weather budget. Augusta says the trust and the council have applied for funding from the Government’s NZ Cycle Trails Extreme Weather Response Fund.
