Track confusion

[Paul Adams]

Att: Te Araroa, The track leading from Waitimo from Fullerton road
heading south is a dissapointment to many frustrated people, including
myself, I've met in a short time many people with unkind comments
towards the navigational problems, that come with locating track
markers to ascend the first of three bushy peaks, most people give up
and head back to Waitomo, I gave it two attemps and heading towards
the Fullerton road bypass I realized it must be on the far side of the
three bushy peaks. Maybe a need for more stiles after the property
owner has put in more electric fencing or a couple of more orange
markers that guide you past my two mistakes.

regards Paul Adams

[Hefi]

Thanks for this Paul - we do take notice of complaints like this, and
we're onto it this week. This Pehitawa Track didn't ever get its
proper signage. Nor did the local council finish, as it had promised
to do, the last section through Brook Park into Te Kuiti township.
Once you get past that first goat track out from Fullerton Rd, it's
actually agood track over limestone outcrops and farmland and through
one of the best stands of Kahikatea in the country - tall and straight
and dividing the light. The problem is that the goat-track we put in
originally is now overgrown at the north end. Low budget problem - it
needed more money spent on it when it was first put in, but this in
one of our early tracks. It's worst at the Fullerton end, after that
you get into farmland, and the forest. I've alerted TA Waikato Trust,
and our construction manager.

For anyone still in the far north, the Mackerel Track, which we also
had complaints about, has been redone by the forestry company and I'm
told its passable now. I'm awaiting a status report on this from the
local walkways firm, and it may be that we'll do some more work on it,
but I've been reliably told you can now, at least, get through.

Incidentally it's not the police ripping up that stile at Rangiriri -
we believe it's a local, and we're talking with the regional council
about it. It's the council that owns the land. Also, note the news
on TA's website: the 18-km Woodlaw Track is open in the south, O'Dea
Road just south-west of Hamilton also open.


Hefi.