Construction of the long-awaited Rapanui Road Trail near Whanganui is underway, with almost $200,000 raised for the project.
When completed, the shell rock pathway will stretch more than 8km from State Highway 3 at Ōtamatea to Mowhanau Beach.
Rapanui Road Trail trustee Viv Millward told Wednesday’s Whanganui Rural Community Board the project had “been a few years in the making and we are now accelerating progress”.
“The first stage has commenced, from Mowhanau to close to Bason [Botanic Gardens],” she said.
“It’s now clear that we need to become more high profile.
“People are seeing it and they are pretty excited.”
The board voted unanimously to grant the trust $1000 towards signage on the trail, Great North Rd and at the beach, notifying people of the project, showing funds raised and how to donate.
It will also endorse future funding applications by the trust.
“There’s no profit, there’s no admin fees, all the dollars go into the track,” Millward said.
Board chairman and Mowhanau village resident Jack Bullock said he and his family had already tried some of the trail.
“This is really exciting for us out there and the kids loved it,” he said.
“It is activating something in rural Whanganui. It’s just brilliant.”
The Chronicle reported last August that work had begun on the first stage of the trail, linking Westmere School with Westmere Lake.
But Whanganui District Council intervened almost immediately and the project was paused.
A memorandum of understanding between the trust and the council was then signed, with plans for Mowhanau to Bason Botanic Gardens drawn up while consenting issues for stage one were worked through.
Tartek director Tristan Teki said the company was constructing 3km of the trail, starting from Bason Botanic Gardens.
“It’s shellrock at the moment but hopefully in the future it’ll be chip sealed,” he said.
“This is a good gap filler for us in winter and something different.”
Teki said there had been a lot of interest as the work went on - “people are stopping to take pictures and tooting their horns”.
The final stage would be wet rolling, he said.
“We want to saturate the ground to do that. Hopefully it’ll pour down for a couple of days but we’ll still need the water truck.”
Millward said the trail would be a huge asset for the Whanganui community and out-of-town visitors.
Funding had come from the Four Regions Trust, Duncan Trust, Arthur Wheeler Leedstown Trust, Powerco Community Fund, Whanganui Community Foundation and individual donations, she said.
“Downer and Fulton Hogan have been really helpful with providing some resources as well.
“We’ve had people donate $100 and their value and contribution is just as important as a bigger organisation that can give tens of thousands of dollars.”
The council included $500,000 for the trail in its Long-Term Plan 2024-34 but it will not be available until 2032.
The project is estimated to cost about $1.3 million.
Councillor Ross Fallen, a member of the board, said trails in New Zealand (Ngā Haerenga Great Rides) were a $1.25 billion annual industry.
“That covers accommodation, food and gear hire,” he said.
“The opportunity here is not just for recreational enjoyment by walkers, cyclists etc.
“I’m going to predict it will be the number one trail in Whanganui once it’s opened.”
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily Whanganui District Council.