Te Ara Taurapa adds safe ending to Te Araroa
Te Araroa
Te Araroa walkers ending (or starting) their long hike in Bluff are now safer thanks to 16 km of new shared-use track running south, starting from Awarua. This removes the former risk posed by walking on a busy section of State Highway 1. It’s an improvement for walkers as well as cyclists and runners.
The track completes Te Ara Taurapa, a 25-km trail connecting Invercargill and Bluff. This follows an 1860s road and rail corridor along an earlier ara tawhito (traditional travel route). Mana whenua gifted the name, which means a journey along the taurapa (stern post) of the waka Aoraki.
Te Ara Taurapa is a joint project between Environment Southland and Invercargill City Council, with significant funding contributions from Waka Kotahi NZTA and Te Araroa Trust. It also received financial support from the ILT Foundation and Community Trust South.
It was finished in November 2021 and officially opened on 31 March this year once six interpretation panels, developed by Te Rūnanga o Awarua and Te Rūnanga o Waihōpai, were in place.
Supporting Te Araroa Trust to manage Te Araroa
The original memorandum of understanding between Te Araroa Trust and us reached its two-year anniversary in June 2022. The two organisations agreed to update and replace it with a new two-year memorandum through to June 2024. The trust expressed its gratitude for the logistical support we provide. Because of this partnership, the trust has been able to focus its energy on maintaining and developing the trail and supporting walkers.