[Wayne Stevens]

Some news from DoC…

22 January, 2003

Tararua track tidy-up

The sounds of chainsaws and scrub bars will echo through the tops of the Tararua Forest Park over the next few weeks as contractors clear overgrown vegetation from more than 23 km of tracks.

The Department of Conservation is advising trampers to make their presence known to contractors clearing vegetation along the main range track between Nichols and Te Matawai Huts, on the Gable End track, from Richard?s Knob to the old Ohau Shelter site, and the top of the Girdlestone Track down to Dowling Falls junction. Warning signs will be erected at both ends of the tracks.

?People using the tracks need to make sure they are visible to the contractors,? DOC Kapiti Area programme manager Wayne Boness said.

After a decade of unimpeded growth, the leatherwood, flax and tussock are encroaching onto the tracks and proving a challenge for park users, along with windfall beech trees, he said.

?It had got to the stage where you couldn?t see where you were putting your feet. The end result of this work will be better-defined tracks. They will become a wander rather than a push.?

Part of the department?s track maintenance programme, the work will take about two to three weeks to complete, weather permitting. ENDS

For more information please contact Wayne Boness, 04 296 1112

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