Outdoor Recreation Consortium Press Release: 13/01/16
Immediately prior to Christmas, the Outdoor Recreation Consortium was pleased to congratulate applicants from around the country on the success of their funding applications. The Consortium allocated $400,000 to clubs and groups undertaking volunteer projects to maintain New Zealand’s backcountry hut and track network.
New Zealand Deerstalkers Association president Bill O’Leary is thrilled that people continue to volunteer to undertake this work.
“The resounding message we are receiving is that these places are valued,” said O’Leary. “A wide variety of community members want these backcountry huts to be there forever, and people we had never heard of proved to be committed enough to this cause to contribute hours of their own time. And, not only are they are enjoying the job, they’re coming back for more.”
Federated Mountain Clubs President Robin McNeill was pleased to let tramping clubs up and down the country know their hard work could continue.
“We have been able again to support the Kaimai Ridgeway project, which is run by a great bunch of trampers and hunters who are maintaining over 100 kilometres of track in the Kaimai range and planning to fund and build a network of new huts, and for the first time, we have supported projects in the Bay of Plenty and East Coast,” said McNeill.
“We are getting stuck into some of those huts that backcountry folk will recognise instantly, such as Carkeek hut in the Tararuas, Lonely Lake Hut in Kahurangi National Park and Ivory Lake Hut in the Waitaha.
“We’ve also provided support to the Permolat group in the Central South Island, which continues to go from strength to strength and, in another first for us, we are helping a group who is maintaining the stone Two Mile Hut in the Remarkables. Central Otago is ripe with opportunity for volunteers who want to get involved with ex-pastoral lease huts that have come over to public land through tenure review and land purchases.”
Trail Fund NZ, which supports the development and maintenance of sustainable mountain bike-accessible trails in New Zealand, was also proud to support more great projects this round.
“It’s great to see the Great Lake Trail in Taupo continue to head west up the Waihaha and, on the other side of the lake, the Te Iringa trail – which heads into the Kaimanawas – provides great backcountry riding.
The next funding round will be in May. Funding is sourced from the DOC Community Fund. Find out more at www.hutsandtracks.org.nz .
