by the Advocates for the Tongariro River.
(Monday 23 May 11 am. by Ross Baker)
Seeking “seed”funding for Tongariro River Trail
The Tongariro RIver Trail (“TRT”) was originally proposed by the Advocates for a meeting with the Turangi Tongariro Community Board on 7 October 2003. So this TRT project has been nursed along by the Advocates for over 7 years and,with your assistance,is now about to become a reality. The proposal to extend existing tracks and link up other tracks up the Tongariro River gained more momentum after it was supported by the Mayor,Rick Cooper and MP Louise Upston in 2009. The Advocates prepared a dvd and power point demonstration (which can be viewed on the website:Tongarirorivertrail.co.nz) for submission to NZ Cycle Trails Project. Since then the continuing support from TDC’s previous Council encouraged the Advocates to continue. A major breakthrough was when the Department of Corrections approved the trail through their 20,000 acre prison farm and forest. Major supporters include Taupo District Council (TDC),Department of Conservation (DoC),Genesis Energy,Turangi Tongariro Community Board,and all other community groups.
More important than the route is the economic impacts this will have on Turangi and the Taupo region. We believe the completed 3 day 60-70 km TRT project will attract more tourists than any other tourist development or recreational event in this region. Very briefly,one of the primary economic drivers is to fill existing demand from tourists who are attracted by NZ’s most popular one day walk –the Tongariro Alpine Crossing (“TAC”). This 18 km TAC attracts about 65,000 tourists annually. But what you may be unaware of is that it is closed by adverse weather conditions for much of the year –usually about 20% of summer months and 80% of winter. (Example:in the last two months it was closed for 12 days or 38% of March 2011,11 days or 36% of April 2011.) That indicates there are well over 20,000 tourists each year,who visit the Taupo region to walk the TAC but find it closed (i.e. no shuttle bus operating) so we lose them as there are no other suitable all day all weather track options nearby. So the TRT project has adopted all the best aspects of the TAC and will address all negative issues like access,parking,lack of toilets,rubbish collection,signage,future maintenance,marketing,etc.
This TRT project is aimed specifically at that tourist market sector gap –to provide an alternative. What is more,it will allow bikers as well who will double the potential users,all year round in all weather conditions. What is even more important,it will eventually have at least three stages or take 3 days which will keep tourists in this region longer. That is the key issue. That is critical for Turangi. It will revitalise tourism in Turangi and the Taupo region with estimated potential of 50,000 tourists p.a. staying 4 or 5 nights in this region. Note that the existing major shuttle service for the TAC advises only 15% of their tourists come from Turangi. The majority bus from Taupo. Therefore this is not just a Turangi project –the Taupo region will benefit far more.
So the TRT is more of a project in job creation and economic development than just another bike track. In the last inter-census 15 years period –up to 2006 –Turangi’s resident population dropped 16%. Over the same period the rest of NZ rose 19%. The basic reason is lack of job opportunities for younger people in Turangi. Nearly all school graduates have to leave town to find work. This TRT project will create more than 100 jobs locally. The best job creation precedent is the Otago Rail Trail. (Compare the relative location factor of ORT with the TRT on SH 1.) By the time it was attracting 14,000 tourists p.a. the ORT had already created over 75 full time jobs. Last summer their traffic increased over 40%. All ORT accommodation and bike hire are booked out for Easter for the next 5 years. It is a total success story. But what really hurts is most of the ORT riders come from the North Island. They drive past Taupo and Turangi to get there.
An interesting precedent is the Kepler Track. This 60 km 3 day track was built by DoC in 1988 to take the pressure off the Milford and Routeburn tracks. Now it is marketed by DoC as one of NZ’s great walks and a tourist destination on its own. The TRT has the potential to become the most popular biking and hiking trail in NZ. The best precedent to indicate demand for bikes in a National Park is the Heaphy Track which opened for bikes last summer and had over 7000 bikers complete the track. Again,compare their location and logistical difficulties to the TRT on SH 1. A major difference to the ORT and Kepler and other proposed trails is that in Taupo and Turangi all the infrastructure is already in place and most of the tracks are already built. Parking,roading access,tourist accommodation,bus shuttle services,rafting operators,tourist information centres,cafes,restaurants,bike hire and maintenance,etc. are already here and waiting…. i.e. There are already 6 DoC toilets built on the route. For the Kepler and ORT these had to be developed. For the TRT all that is needed is to link up several existing scenic tracks. The long term aim is to link the TRT with other tourist bike trails to the north to Taupo and south to link with the Tongariro National Park tracks.
Now,two years after the project was supported by TDC the Advocates have appointed Richard Balm (Consultant to NZ Cycle Trails) as Project Manager to steer the project. The initial resource consent application is for the first day,or Stage 1 of the TRT,from Turangi to Poutu Intake Dam –a hiking distance of about 20 km. up the eastern banks of the Tongariro River through prime unspoilt Kaimanawa Forest Park. Bikers have other options to stretch their route to 26 km. A Genesis visitor centre will be developed at the end of Day 1 at the Poutu Intake Dam. From there TRT offers a choice of return by shuttle bus or by raft. Day 2 the shuttle bus will deliver tourists to the hub –being Poutu Intake –and the trail extends further south on existing old hydro roads through more of the Kaimanawa Forest to Tree Trunk Gorge –via the Pillars of Hercules –and return. Again there is a choice to return either by shuttle bus or private transport or by raft. The third day returns to Turangi on the western side of the Tongariro via the Trout Centre. The route offers several other options for bikers and may eventually link up with other existing tracks across the Tongariro National Park.
All future management and maintenance is provided for by a levy included in the shuttle bus fares. This will provide for future maintenance and other ongoing costs. The TRT will be promoted and marketed through existing visitor centres in Turangi and Taupo (&Whakapapa). The Taupo District Council and Destination Great Lake Taupo have been involved for the last two years. They will become stakeholders in the future governance having equal shares with the Advocates . All profits will go back into the project. It is a win-win for everyone. As such we,the Advocates,strongly recommend Council to support the TRT to help fund it through the initial planning stages. Council have already generously assisted with advice regarding many planning issues such as the resource consent application to Conservancy Board for access through Kaimanawa Forest Park –to be presented by Richard Balm this week. The Advocates are a community based charitable organisation who have already invested thousands to reach this stage. The promotional dvd alone cost thousands. The website has cost thousands. Designs and costs estimates for bridges has cost thousands. The sweat equity from committee members runs into many more thousands. Now they need your support to turn this dream project into a reality. It is a sound investment into funding tourism infrastructure using a proven successful recipe based on existing demand which will provide an attractive economic return in greatly increased tourism revenues in all sectors throughout the Taupo region.
