Before the Old Ghost Road (OGR) opened in 2015, Wilderness ran some ‘comment’ pieces that were less than supportive. The articles, by a West Coast resident, variously accused the OGR of being assisted by mining interests, a road to nowhere and a backcountry asset sell-off. In one, the author ‘lets rip at the Old Ghost Road’.

Looking back on those articles now, I think: how tiresome. Such articles are great for the letter’s page, which is presumably why we ran them. People tend to write in when they disagree with something or feel strongly about it. But a bit like the OGR, which roving editor Shaun Barnett claims he did not even develop a sweat on when he walked it, I’m mellower these days. I think we’re better when we celebrate rather than denigrate. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t ask the hard questions or turn a blind eye to issues, but it’s important not to sensationalise them. 

As it turns out, the OGR has been a huge success, and the various comment pieces we ran all turned out to be hot air. We’ve seen the landscape recover from the building works, and more people are enjoying recreational opportunities on a multi-day trail – one that DOC did not have the resources to build or the funds to maintain. It’s a fabulous addition to the West Coast and the network of tracks there. 

OGR is a trail that is before – or perhaps of – its time. Whether we like it or not, it’s a possible template, alongside the likes of the Hump Ridge Track, for future trails that will fall to the community to build and maintain, as we see yet another appalling and short-sighted round of cuts at DOC that will inevitably lead to fewer recreational opportunities and greater species and habitat loss. 

On April 10 I emailed all subscribers to notify them of the new Terms and Conditions governing their subscription (applicable at the next renewal). The main reason for the email was to notify subscribers that instead of printing 12 issues in 2025, we will be printing 11 (with a double issue published over winter). If you have not seen that email, please take some time to view the T&Cs, which you can find here.