11 new tracks added to Mahu Whenua network
ACTIVITY: Preparing recommendation reports for the Overseas Investment Office
For over a decade, Herenga ā Nuku has worked to establish public access to a large area of high country owned by Robert Lange of Soho Property Limited. Our latest milestone came in June this year when 11 new tracks were formally gazetted as Walkways under the Walking Access Act 2008.
Back in 2011, the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) consented to Lange purchasing two large Crown Pastoral Leases between Wanaka and Arrowtown, subject to the provision of enduring public access. Lange was required to work with Herenga ā Nuku to achieve this, and both he and his land manager Russell Hamilton have been immensely supportive.
Herenga ā Nuku has worked with the many collaborating parties and navigated complex legal processes arising from the property being Crown lease land. Enthusiasm and collaboration have created something special.
Four of the 11 new tracks include cycle access, and they are all open and in use. Herenga ā Nuku’s regional field advisor Ange van der Laan says people are flocking to the trail network, “It’s an amazing asset to the country, and especially us very happy locals in Arrowtown”.
Mahu Whenua is the name of the Queen Elizabeth II (QEII) covenants protecting most of Lange’s land. At 53,000 ha, it is the largest private land covenant agreement ever initiated in New Zealand. The QEII National Trust is the controlling authority of the tracks; the Queenstown Lakes District Council, the Department of Conservation, and the Queenstown Trails Trust manage them.
More Mana Whenua tracks are planned to be legally protected in the near future.