Coromandel mayor wants new Great Walk
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| Monday, 23rd July 2012 | Written by Josh Gale |
Thames-Coromandel District Council has allocated $40,000 of its 2012 budget to conduct a feasibility study on building the country’s 10th Great Walk on the Coromandel Peninsula.
Mayor Glenn Leach told Wilderness the idea of a Great Walk on the Peninsula has been kicking around for decades, but has never taken off.
“Community groups have been working hard on building tracks around the Peninsula and have vision for more in their areas,” Leach said. “They’re enthusiastic people and we don’t want to undermine them in any way, we want to work with them.
“This project is about creating a world-class multi-day walk that links strongly with towns and communities on the Coromandel to drive economic development through tourism.
“Imagine building a walking track from the top of the Peninsula down to Waihi across to Karangahake Gorge, taking coastal routes and along the spine of the ranges linking all our towns on the east and west coasts.
“Much of the track already exists; it’s about joining them all up.”
Leach wants the “central artery” to be a grade 1, two metre wide track with lower grade tracks branching off it.
Rather than building new huts along the track, Leach said local communities will provide accommodation.
“We have 55 per cent absentee home owners on the Peninsula,” he said. “We could utilise these homes.”
To build the track, Leach envisions drawing on volunteers from around Coromandel and engaging school leavers and the unemployed and teaching them new skills along the way.
He said many older retired or semi-retired local residents would get involved with the project bringing important know-how.
Leach aims to have the feasibility study completed by September and will then meet with community groups, iwi, business, DOC and others to discuss the project’s strategy and principles.
In March next year Leach wants to be ready to take a detailed proposal to Wellington to request funding and support from the Government.
“I believe this is the sort of initiative that Government can’t walk away from,” Leach said. “The economy has been in decline for quite some time now and we’re stepping up to the plate and saying things might not get better for a long, long time so let’s get in and do something that’s real while we can.
“This could be the 10th Great Walk in New Zealand and one that is north of Taupo where the bulk of the population is. Ten years down the road I see this as being the biggest income for the Peninsula."
Before entering politics, Leach ran Aotearoa Adventures, an outdoor adventure company that ran guided trips into the Kaimanawa and Kaweka Ranges.
Mayor Glenn Leach told Wilderness the idea of a Great Walk on the Peninsula has been kicking around for decades, but has never taken off.
“Community groups have been working hard on building tracks around the Peninsula and have vision for more in their areas,” Leach said. “They’re enthusiastic people and we don’t want to undermine them in any way, we want to work with them.
“This project is about creating a world-class multi-day walk that links strongly with towns and communities on the Coromandel to drive economic development through tourism.
“Imagine building a walking track from the top of the Peninsula down to Waihi across to Karangahake Gorge, taking coastal routes and along the spine of the ranges linking all our towns on the east and west coasts.
“Much of the track already exists; it’s about joining them all up.”
Leach wants the “central artery” to be a grade 1, two metre wide track with lower grade tracks branching off it.
Rather than building new huts along the track, Leach said local communities will provide accommodation.
“We have 55 per cent absentee home owners on the Peninsula,” he said. “We could utilise these homes.”
To build the track, Leach envisions drawing on volunteers from around Coromandel and engaging school leavers and the unemployed and teaching them new skills along the way.
He said many older retired or semi-retired local residents would get involved with the project bringing important know-how.
Leach aims to have the feasibility study completed by September and will then meet with community groups, iwi, business, DOC and others to discuss the project’s strategy and principles.
In March next year Leach wants to be ready to take a detailed proposal to Wellington to request funding and support from the Government.
“I believe this is the sort of initiative that Government can’t walk away from,” Leach said. “The economy has been in decline for quite some time now and we’re stepping up to the plate and saying things might not get better for a long, long time so let’s get in and do something that’s real while we can.
“This could be the 10th Great Walk in New Zealand and one that is north of Taupo where the bulk of the population is. Ten years down the road I see this as being the biggest income for the Peninsula."
Before entering politics, Leach ran Aotearoa Adventures, an outdoor adventure company that ran guided trips into the Kaimanawa and Kaweka Ranges.
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