
Photo: Shaun Barnett[/caption] This never happened, of course, and I actually spent the next few days befriending numerous wheel-happy folk. We shared anecdotes, jokes and tea bags in much the same way two groups of trampers would. At no stage were there raised voices or vein-throbbed foreheads. It’s fair to say DOC’s three-year trial to allow mountain bikers to share the Heaphy Track with trampers was, by and large, a success. Not everyone agrees and some believe the decision to make it permanent was already made before the trial began. But even its sternest critics would have to admit that the three-year test went without major hitch in regards to tramper-biker confrontation. Of the 144 feedback responses about biker and tramper experiences during the trial, just six were negative. The trial also helped to fill what would otherwise have been almost empty huts, with nearly 6000 bikers using the track over the trial period. The Heaphy’s not the only track now shared with bikers – the Flora Saddle to Barron Flat and the Kill Devil tracks, also in Kahurangi National Park, have been subject to similar trials and are now permanent year-round dual use tracks. The Queen Charlotte Track in Marlborough and the Moerangi Track in Te Urewera are more examples of tramping tracks that are now dual use. The Queen Charlotte has, in fact, just been widened by 30cm to further accommodate both forms of travel. And not one of these tracks has seen an instance of tramper-biker confrontation serious enough to be reported to DOC HQ. In fact, in the case of the Heaphy, the discussion is now about whether to extend the biking season, rather than scrap it. So is this an inevitable trend that trampers will have to get used to? Does the apparent success of these ventures mean we’ll be sharing more of our favourite tracks in future? DOC is currently gauging public reaction to the idea of opening part of the Kepler Track to bikers in its conservation management strategy for Southland. It doesn’t clarify how much of the track it’s referring to, but the section from the control gates to Brod Bay Shelter seems the most likely. “With the Kepler Track, people typically water taxi past the first section, so you have a hardened good flat track with not many walkers,” says Karyn Owen from Venture Southland, which has commissioned research into the potential to extend the cycle network in the region. At the moment, Fiordland National Park’s Management Plan outlaws the use of bikes on formed tracks within the park and any decision to make the Kepler dual use would require a revised plan. This is why, Owen says, DOC is keen to test the water. “A plan change would be costly,” she says. “So they’re now listening to how the public feel about it. DOC is open to the idea – they’ve seen the research carried out on the Heaphy Track and nothing terribly bad seemed to happen there. “We’ve seen more people on bikes in the region and research seems to indicate it’s a growth area. So DOC has put together a list of potentials to start the discussion.” It’s the type of discussion we may see more of in the future, according to Martin Rodd, of DOC Motueka, who was instrumental in managing the Heaphy trials. But he says the department will be very careful before making any major decisions in this field. [caption id="attachment_4921" align="alignright" width="375"]
