Twain's alternative track upsets Wanaka community

Wanaka residents are upset with Canadian country-pop singer Shania Twain even before she sets up home in New Zealand.

Twain, also known as Eileen Lange, and her husband Robert "Mutt" Lange, are waiting for Overseas Investment Commission approval to buy the Crown pastoral lease for Motatapu Station from Don and Sally McKay.

Twain and Lange have proposed, and are believed to be paying for, two new tramping huts and a walking track from Lake Wanaka to Arrowtown, bypassing the Motatapu homestead.

Although the new track would have undoubted public benefits, the proposal has met a sour reaction because it follows the little-known Fern Burn across land belonging to her potential neighbours, Don and Vicky McRae.

Community leaders expressed disquiet that the move also signalled the possible closure of a popular but private farm track, used by the public on a permission-only basis.

And it raises questions about the long-term future of a large public carpark at the Motatapu Chasm, just below the homestead, and a proposed walking track down the Motatapu River to the lake.

Twain's Queenstown lawyer Bryce Jack and consultant Russell Hamilton this week asked the Queenstown Lakes District Council and the Wanaka Community Board to support the Fern Burn track in time for a planned Department of Conservation announcement in about two or three weeks, when the commission's decision is expected.

The McRaes, who own Alpha Burn Station, said they were "totally shocked" by the Fern Burn proposal.

- NZPA