Feature: Reinventing a remote area

Gone are the days when the Waimarino was known mainly for its cold temperatures, rugged men in bush shirts, market gardens and timber mills. LAUREL STOWELL was a guest of Wade's Landing Lodge & Outdoors on the weekend before Christmas and noted the changes THE wide, open spaces and stark beauty of the Central Plateau are just one ingredient in its transformation into a summer playground as well as a winter skiers' paradise.
The new Mountains to Sea Cycleway is the latest attraction in a wild and remote area that already has lots of summer visitors and an ever-growing number of holiday homes.
The weather was jinxed the weekend the Chronicle visited. The Saturday and Sunday were almost a drought-breaker, with torrential rain across the plateau. Even so, it was obvious a lot more was going on than potato planting.
Wade's Landing Lodge & Outdoors is one possible base for some exploration. It has moved itself from Whakahoro, on the Whanganui River, up to the edge of SH4 at Raurimu. Even before Christmas, manager Simon Allan said he was putting about 12 people a day on the Whanganui River to paddle downstream in canoes. About 8000 people do so every summer.
It's a nearly 600m drop in height from Raurimu down to Whakahoro, where canoeists set out on their river journeys. The AA sign says a paltry 45km, but the trip takes at least an hour. The mainly metal road plunges downhill around tortuous bends and past steep, bony hills, pasture and regenerating bush. Much of the land is marginal for farming.
On the way down is the tiny settlement of Kaitieke, where residents struck a deal with the Government to keep their school open. Simon said it had a roll of seven and the community paid some of the cost.
At the foot of the valley, the Retaruke River, grey with silt from a slip that reactivated near Erua last winter, empties into the Whanganui River. Members of the Steele family own a huge tract of land there and use it for an innovative combination of tourism and farming.
Richard and Rachel Steele farm the former Lacy and Berryman properties, control predators and have planted thousands of trees. They host visitors at the 10-bed Steele Lodge.
Richard, a "hard-case bastard from the King Country", says too much land was cleared in the valley. His wife is on the region's conservation board and aims to plant 1000 kowhai.
The family's land use may be the way of the future, though some people further up the valley disagree with what they are doing.
Richard and Rachel's son, Dan and his partner, Sandy Waters, own 2200ha on the opposite side of the Retaruke River. About half of it is farmable. They run 3000 ewes and lost at least 400 lambs last winter to wild pigs.
Dan is also fencing off streams, protecting wetlands, retiring regenerating bush and trapping cats, rats and stoats. A total of 1100 traps have been spread in the lower valley, maintained by the Steele family, their workers and DoC rangers.
Just one section of the Kaiwhakauka had 15 pairs of kiwi and 12 pairs of whio (blue ducks) last time it was surveyed. The ducks are endangered natives, requiring clean, fast-running streams for for their habitat.
Dan Steele's tourist business includes a cafe, Blue Duck Lodge, and other accommodation that sleeps up to 50. Sometimes it's full.
He's helped in his dual enterprise by an army of young people he calls his eco warriors. They work part-time in exchange for food and board. So many want the job that he has to turn some away.
The bottom of the valley is a base for people who want to paddle the Whanganui or walk the Kaiwhakauka/Mangapurua Track.
They can also walk on Dan's farm. He says it's unfair to own so much land and not let others enjoy it. He ceremonially burned the "No Trespassing" signs when he took over.
His staff will also take tourists for a ride to the farm's natural and historic sites in "the limo", also known as a Polaris Ranger - a US-made fourwheeler. Flying along muddy tracks in it with competent driver John McTaar is an experience all on its own.
The valley's history is being preserved. People walking the Kaiwhakauka can see a restored magazine, where explosives used to make the Mangapurua Rd were stored, and the depot where settlers stored supplies brought in by riverboat and packhorse.
Less obvious are the remnants of Maori history - pa sites, land formerly gardened and remnant marae that people still return to.
A delicate balance must be maintained between tourism and the valley's natural values. One of its charms is its rugged isolation and Dan has turned down a opportunity to host five busloads of tourists a week.
"We've got to grow in a sustainable way and make sure that the environment is looked after and that everyone that comes in has a fantastic time," he said.
We were provided with a first-class meal at the Station Cafe in National Park. The building shook delightfully when a freight train went by.
Our hosts also suggested a high tea at the Bayview Chateau Tongariro in Whakapapa Village. Just being inside the stately 1929 hotel is a treat.
Head porter Cory Bromwich gave us a tour of its 2005 addition. Sadly the $1000-a-night Te Heuheu suite where Peter Jackson stayed during the filming of The Lord of the Rings was occupied and we couldn't see it.
Other outdoor pleasures were denied by the weather.
Hundreds do the Tongariro Crossing in summer, many other long and short tracks are available in Tongariro National Park, and a walk at Rotokura Reserve, near Ohakune.
The Mangapurua/Kaiwhakauka Track is a fascinating ramble through country settled and then abandoned by soldiers returning from World War I. The Kaiwhakauka end is being upgraded for mountainbiking.
The Whanganui River can be canoed or jetboated, the Conservation Department has a Summer Nature Programme and mountain biking opportunities abound. There's the Old Coach Rd, Fisher's Track, the Mangapurua Track, the 42 Traverse, the Tongariro Forest Loop, Erua Rd and its side trails, Erua Forest Trail, Ruatiti Domain Rd, Rangataua Forest, Ohakune Mountain Rd, Lakes Reserve and Ratamarie Rd. Whew!