The Twin Coast Cycle Trail (including the Horeke boardwalk pictured here) was used by 29,269 walkers and 33,395 cyclists in the year to June 2021.
The Twin Coast Cycle Trail (including the Horeke boardwalk pictured here) was used by 29,269 walkers and 33,395 cyclists in the year to June 2021.
"Don't bite the hand that feeds" — that's the message from Tourism Minister Stuart Nash about changes to Northland's popular Twin Coast Cycle Trail.
Earlier this year the Far North District Council pulled out of a consortium that had planned a railway and cycle trail between Ōpua and Kawakawa.
Since2014 part of the 85km Twin Coast Cycle Trail has followed the old rail corridor between the two towns, with the council planning to build a new bike track once the historic railway line is restored.
The council had set aside almost $10 million for the project in its long-term plan but pulled out over what it said was a blow-out in the projected cost and uncertainty over the future lease of the rail corridor.
Instead, the council is considering developing an alternative route via Oromahoe and Whangae roads to preserve the "coast-to-coast" nature of the trail.
The trail is currently closed between Taumarere and a tunnel a few kilometres west of Ōpua.
During a recent visit to Northland, Nash told the Advocate when Ngā Haerenga, the national cycle trail network, was first envisaged it was expected international visitors would be the main users.
In fact, even before the Covid pandemic, Kiwis made up the vast majority of trail users.
The development of e-bikes had helped by making cycle trails accessible to "a whole new demographic".
"I think the trails are fantastic for tourism, but also for our rural and small provincial towns."
Nash said he was loath to wade into the cycle trail controversy because it was a council issue.
"But what I would say is the council could do worse than take a look at the model behind the most successful cycle trails, see what they've done and how they've done it, and why they are so popular... These are trails young kids can do and grandparents can do. They don't include tracks where you've got to be an experienced mountain biker — so the easier these are for a broad range of people, the more successful they're going to be."
On ya bike: Tourism Minister Stuart Nash riding the Roxburgh Trail in December last year.
Nash said many Kiwis had discovered cycling during Covid and now planned their holidays around the next trail they would tackle.
"If the trail up here has a reputation of being very difficult, that will limit the number of people who come up. Keep in mind that those who engage in cycling tend to spend a bit more than your camper van tourists. So don't bite the hand that feeds," he said.
Currently, the Twin Coast Cycle Trail is graded 1-2 (easiest-easy). If it is re-routed via Oromahoe and Whangae roads part of it will be graded 3-4 (intermediate-advanced). Both roads are unsealed, steep in places and shared with cars.
The rail corridor between Ōpua and Kawakawa is owned by KiwiRail and leased to the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway Trust.
The lease is, however, due to expire soon. The corridor is also subject to a Treaty of Waitangi claim.
A new report commissioned by Ngā Haerenga found the 22 rides in the cycle trail network brought almost 1.1 million visitors from other regions in the year to June 2021, a 15 per cent increase on the previous year.
Those visitors booked 3.6 million nights' accommodation (up 18 per cent) and spent $951m (up 31 per cent).
If everyone is counted, including walkers and local day-trippers, the total number of users jumps to almost 2.2 million.
The research also estimated $11m in health benefits for trail users with many riders reporting improved fitness and mental health.
The study showed the Twin Coast Cycle Trail had a total of 62,665 users in the year to June 2021, a decrease of 6 per cent on the previous year. Numbers are likely to drop further this year, going by anecdotal reports from accommodation and cycle hire businesses.
The only other trails where user numbers declined significantly were Queen Charlotte Track, which was partly closed, and Queenstown Trails (both down 15 per cent).
Three trails saw user numbers jump about 50 per cent (Timber Trail, Remutaka Cycle Trail and Mountains to Sea Trail) while four trails had more than 300,000 users (Hawke's Bay Trail, Remutaka Cycle Trail, Tasman's Great Taste Trail and Queenstown Trails).
Bike bridges on way out
Bridges, gates and fencing are being removed from part of the Twin Coast Cycle Trail as it reverts to its former use as a railway line.
Far North District Council major and recovery projects manager David Clamp said bike trail infrastructure was being removed between Taumarere and Akeake on the Kawakawa to Ōpua leg of the cycleway.
The removal was to allow for the reinstatement of the railway, which was being undertaken by Northern Adventure Experience (NAX).
The cycle trail bridges had been built over existing rail bridges.
The infrastructure, which was owned by the council but managed by Pou Herenga Tai Twin Coast Cycle Trail Trust, would be stored while plans to develop a permanent, alternative cycle trail along the railway corridor were progressed, Clamp said.
NAX is a consortium that originally brought together the council, Bay of Islands Vintage Railway Trust, the cycle trail trust, Kerikeri Steam Trust and local iwi Ngāti Hine. It aimed to create a vintage rail, ferry and cycle experience between Kawakawa and Ōpua.
The council and the cycle trail trust pulled out in January.
