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Trail News and Maintenance
One small section of the Trail became temporarily flooded over Queens Birthday weekend due to a major storm. This soon dissipated with no damage to the trail. Minor damage was caused by run off on some of the inclined sections. Some reshaping of these sections is expected to mitigate this and improve other parts of the trail surface An “Adopt a Section of the Trail” programme is underway to involve Trail supporters in the upkeep of planting along the trail route. On Friday 12 June a huge turn-out of approximately 50 volunteers including students from the Hikuai School planted 1000 trees at strategic locations along the trail. These trees were donated by WRC . Website The website and Facebook pages are to be updated. Predator Control The following pests were eradicated over the reporting period: 1 x possum 7 x rats 1 x stoat 19 x Good Nature Kills Trail Usage Counter 2433 passes for the period Mid-May to Mid-June. Funding The 2019 Tairua Trail and Tides Run and the 2020 Pauanui Half Marathon are current public fund raisers for the trail. Submissions to Local Body, National Authority and other donors / benefactors are underway. Firewood sales and public donations are ongoing. Trail Stage 4 Some discussions regarding the where and how the trail is to proceed from Hikuai to Tairua and beyond are underway. Health & Safety A revised Health & Safety plan has been circulated and signed by all committee members. Additional “Hidden Driveway” signs are to be installed on a driveway where the trail crosses behind the newly installed safety barrier west of the Duck Creek Bridge. April 2020
Sadly this year’s progress on the trail has been non-existent. The Trail Committee has continued to meet monthly and have continued to maintain the trail to a very high standard. They have had an excellent tree planting programme under the guidance of Kim, Jeanette and Anne. Peter and Linda Millen have been very diligent with their pest eradication programme and we are seeing a vast increase of birdlife because of their efforts. The trust is most fortunate to have Bill Witt who keeps the finances in control. We are truly grateful for his work. Peter Millen and John Mackenzie have had very productive year selling firewood. I commend them and their team of willing workers. Storm Waters has joined the trail team as our track construction expert. He has been doing this job for the last six years and is a valuable addition to our committee. Terry Kingham from Tairua has offered to take on the role of fund raising. I believe he will do an excellent job. The presence of someone from Tairua is also very important. Once again I’m grateful for the many hours of pro bono work that is done by Tim Hart. Thank you so much for your wise council and support. Work to progress Stage 3 of the Trail is currently stalled by a DoC decision which does not allow the construction along the Marginal Strip as detailed in our Resource Consent. We feel they have been unduly influenced by Iwi and a small group of locals who form the Hikuai Liaison Group. This group has put their support behind the property owners at 403 & 345 Hikuai Settlement Road who opposes the consented trail route along the DoC administered public land between their properties and the river. Doc has stated that this Marginal Strip is pristine wetland and needs protection. The irony of this is that stock has grazed this land for many years. This practice continues unabated. DOC and Iwi have been frustrating to deal with and seem to be showing a lack of concern for the very thing they say they wish to protect. The trail committee feel that, with the eventual completion of the trail, we will be able to encourage the protection and restoration of the natural environment of this area as outlined in Docs own publication - “Magical Places – 40 Wetlands to visit in New Zealand” Recent Mediation arranged by TCDC between the affected parties has failed to find any agreement on an alternative route. We are still hopeful a way forward will be found. To try and remove some of the tension surrounding this stalemate I resigned as Chairman of the Trail Committee. I believed that new blood was needed. Gary Prince agreed to step up and was duly elected as the new Chairman. I’m really impressed with the way Gary has approached his new role. Chairman of the Hikuai District Trust Gary Fowler The Waikato Regional Council has now granted resource consent for Stage 3 of the Trail. The Trust has settled on a route that runs alongside the road from the Duck Creek bridge for about 200m before dropping down in the generous road reserve area. It will then pass through bush for about another 450m before turning back, through farm land, to the marginal strip by the river. It will then follow the river westwards for about 3km. The Trust is currently finalizing the design of the new Duck Creek Trail bridge and, with just a few outstanding matters to be resolved, is contemplating making a start on Stage 3 in the near future. Trust Chairman, Gary Fowler, says many hurdles have been overcome including the numerous bureaucratic demands associated with the process. All the Trail committee have contributed to the result but most of the credit must go to project manager, Andy Bolton (pictured) who has worked tirelessly over a very long period.  Andy says obtaining a “non-notified” resource consent from the Waikato Regional Council has saved us a possible $80,000 in Environment Court hearing costs. We are in the process of finalizing the necessary concession from DOC for the river margin and expect to start construction of the Trail from Duck Creek to the river in the near future. But we will not be able to commence construction of the marginal strip section by the river until early next year.
Our priority now will be given to raising the significant amount of money required to complete stage 3. NEWS FLASH!!!!!
You've heard about how the PAUANUI RAT & STOAT SOCIETY, hated being excluded, but fret no more, LIMITED DONATION opportunities has been opened for 2018! Initial donations for this cause will get the Donees name and a number entered onto a trap for ONE YEAR for the nominal sum of $250. This sum will be used by the Trust for the purchase of a GOODNATURE TRAP KIT and maintenance for ONE YEAR https://www.goodnature.co.nz Most important, each trap willl have a COUNTING DEVICE attached. For the following three years of financial support for the nominal sum of $40 per year - the Trust will use this money to fund one year's supply of LURE BAIT and ACCESSORIES. A small price to donate for twelve more months of fun and feverish competition. Trap owners don't need to train or reach pinnacles of extreme fitness in the quest for your team to win the ULTIMATE prize. Peter Millen, the Rat and Stoat Society TRAP MASTER will do all the hard work. In the event of a draw, TRAP MASTER will randomly select a winner (he can be bribed). SERIOUSLY, we need EVERYONE'S support to get these pest numbers under control. This is a fun way to get children involved; they can see the difference their donation will make. Over the last few years the tireless work of the PAUANUI TAIRUA TRAIL COMMITTEE members has seen an increase in birdlife as we get pest numbers under control; There is still a LONG way to go, and we need your HELP NOW. We can all play our part to get NEW ZEALAND PEST FREE by starting in our playground - the PAUANUI TAIRUA TRAIL. All monies can be paid direct to our REGISTERED CHARITABLE TRUST online bank account: Westpac Thames 03 0458 0277108 00 Hikuai District Trust. Or posted to: Trust's treasurer Bill Witt, P.O.Box 97 Pauanui 3546 All donations gratefully received and used for materials for the track NOW UNDER CONSTRUCTION. Make sure you write this is for the RAT & STOAT SOCIETY TRAP donation. Please PROVIDE an email address or a phone number so we can ensure inclusion in our monthly updates and your receipt. Rat & Stoat Society (self appointed) PRESIDENT Jeanette Waters waterspj@gmail.com 0274984764 11 Prescott Place Pauanui Contact Jeanette with any questions. Don't just think, but ACT NOW!  The 4th/5th January storm dealt the Waterways boardwalk a devastating blow. The Trail Committee is now desperate for funds to cover the $20,000 cost of materials and machine hire required for the repair. The considerable labour involved has been supplied at no cost. The usual Trail Committee suspects set aside all other commitments immediately after the storm and together with a large number of enthusiastic and hard working local volunteers set to work. Within 5 days the boardwalk was temporarily fixed to the point it could be used.  Previous repairs have generally held up well. The high tide, storm surge and large waves caused by strong winds proved too much, however, for some of the original structure. At least 30 new blade piles, with extensions will be driven in deeper than before. These piles should withstand even the tremendous pressure generated by the recent combination of adverse weather and tide conditions. We are looking for donations which might, for example, cover the cost of a blade pile (30 required at $500 each), a bearer (6 required at $100 each) or a wooden pile (8 required at $50 each). But any donation will be gratefully received. Donations should be paid to the Hikuai District Trust (a registered charity). On line (or banked) to account number: 03 0458 0277108 00, or Posted to the Trust’s treasurer Bill Witt, P.O. Box 97, Pauanui 3546 Requests for a receipt can be emailed to Bill: wrwitt@outlook.co.nz  Fixed
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