A 2 minute video ride along the Newcastle Track
Combine it with the Upper Clutha River Track to make a great loop ride from Albert Town
Posts Tagged 'Walking Tracks In Wanaka,'
AGM – 17th October 2012
Tuesday, October 9th, 2012
Six years of achievement
The Devil's Nook - Luggate Creek Track
Our annual general meeting will be held at 7.pm on Wednesday 17th October at the Print It Community Room on Brownston St Wanaka.
Everyone is welcome to join us as we celebrate six years of achievement and discuss ideas for new projects.
Our current projects the Newcastle Track and the Luggate Creek Track – stage 2 are both expected to be completed and open by Christmas, and the Trust is now reviewing ideas for new projects.
We will have a range of ideas available for discussion and would welcome any ideas that the public may have.
Everyone is welcome and we look forward to seeing you there on 17th.
Luggate Creek Track Official Opening
Monday, May 23rd, 2011
The Trust would like to invite everyone to join us to celebrate the opening of the Luggate Creek Track on Sunday 30th May at 10 am at Harris Place in Luggate. Harris Place in is the new subdivision in Luggate and is accessed from Pisa Road. See track map for details.
The Luggate Creek Track is the first part of our current projects to be opened and connects the Luggate Township into the track network. The track also provides access to Luggate Creek and limited access to the Devil’s Nook. We hope to be able to improve access to the Devils Nook later in the year as a further phase of this project.
The Devil's Nook - Luggate Creek Track
It is now possible to to walk or cycle between Luggate, Wanaka, Albert Town and Lake Hawea completely off road.
In the near future, we hope to include the small community at John’s Creek into the network, and we are also looking at options to fully connect to Hawea Flat. In the longer term, our goal is to creaet a track all the way down to Cromwell and Clyde to connect with the Otago Central Rail Trail and the Roxburgh Gorge Track.
The Trust is a registered Charity and funds its activities from grants and donations and support from the public and local businesses.
The Trust welcomes support either by cash donations or the donations of skills and services and details of what even small donations can achieve can be found on our Help the Trust build Tracks page.
The Trust is grateful for the support of the following groups for their financial support of the project.
Central Lakes Trust $120,000
Otago Community Trust $30,000
The Trusts Charitable Foundation $20,000
Alexander McMillan Trust $10,000
Callis Trust $10,000
Lion Foundation $10,000
First Sovereign Trust $10,000
DOC $43,244
The balance of the funds have been provided by the Trust.
Clutha River Track News – December 09
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009
Work To Start Soon At Haliday Bluff
Hard track construction work ahead at Halliday Bluff Albert Town
The Trust is pleased to anounce that the tender to construct the challenging section of the Clutha River Track below Haliday Bluff has been let to JW & AE Sutton Trading Trust with work expected to start early in the new year.
John Sutton has recently completed the new section of the Glendhu Bay Track from the Mt Aspiring Viewpoint and new car park to Damper Bay and has also done the track improvement work on the Wanaka Millennium Track. If you have walked or cycled along these tracks you will know the care and attention that he puts into his work and the Trust is confident he will make a great job of the Clutha River Track.
Clutha River Track News October 09
Monday, October 12th, 2009
Cardrona River Bridge & Clutha River Track
The Cardrona River bridge at Albert Town was placed over the river on Wednesday 7th October. The bridge forms a vital part of the Clutha River Track running from Albert Town to near the Red Bridge in Luggate, and has been under construction for the last month. The track will form part of the Clutha Mata-Au River Parkway project which will eventually create a track along the Clutha River from Lake Wanaka to the Sea.
A crane lowers the Cardrona Bridge onto its foundations.
The Clutha River Track was planned at the same time as the Hawea River Track, but the Trust focused on completing the Hawea River Track before starting construction on the Clutha River Track.
The construction of the bridge has been greatly assisted by a very generous donation of $25,000 from Meg Taylor, owner of the nearby Riverrun luxury lodge and farm. Meg is the widow of John Pawson, the first chair of the Trust who died last November in a tragic climbing accident, and the bridge will be named in his memory.
Meg Taylor giving Trust Chair Tim Dennis her donation at the Cardrona River Bridge site.
The Track will follow the true right of the Clutha River from Albert Town and this section will finish on Short Cut Road near the Red Bridge, where the Department of Conservation has built a carpark. Two sections of the track have already been marked and opened by the Department of Conservation at a simple marked route standard.
Stevensons Road Access to Clutha River Track
The first of these is the section between the end of Stevensons Road, just west of Wanaka Airport, to near the west end of Short Cut Road near Luggate.
Access to Rekos Point and Clutha River Track at Short Cut Rd Luggate
This section was assisted by an adjoining landowner Lloyd Ferguson who formed a long section of the track, and by the Clutha Fisheries Trust who had raised funds to mark and fence paper road access to the Clutha River which forms part of this track.
Clutha River Track looking upstream between Rekos Point and Stevensons Road
The other section already opened is a continuation of the track round Rekos Point and back to the Short Cut Road access point.
Heading Upstream on the Rekos Point part of the Clutha River Track
The Trust hope to be able to upgrade these sections of track to make them easier to cycle once the miussing sections of the track have been completed.
The missing sections are between Albert Town and Stevensons Road, and are through the Haliday Bluffs just downstream from Albert Town. This section is the most challenging section of the track to build and it is currently being tendered,
Hard track construction work ahead at Halliday Bluff Albert Town
The other missing section is from the Rekos Point track to the new carpark on Short Cut Rd near the Red Bridge and Luggate.
Route of missing link from Rekos Point Track towards the red Bridge at Luggate
The Trust is also working on extending the Clutha River Track on to the Devils Nook, and up Luggate Creek to the Luggate Township.
Hawea River Track Official Opening 2nd August 09
Friday, August 14th, 2009
UCTT Trustees at the track opening - photo John Taylor
The Hawea River Track had its official opening ceremony on Sunday 2nd August. Although there was heavy rain in the morning, it cleared in time for the opening at 1pm and the Trust was very pleased that about 150 people came to join us in the celebrations.
Tim Dennis, the Trust chairman, paid tribute to John Pawson, the Trusts original chairman who sadly was killed in a climbing accident last November. It was John who persuaded the Trust to take on the challenge of the Hawea River Track as its first major project and although he didn’t see it opened, it was very close to completion at the time of the accident.
Hawea River Track Sign At Lake Hawea
Mike Pullar of the Te Araroa – The Long Pathway Trust – spoke about the Te Araroa track running from Bluff to Cape Reinga and that the Hawea River Track was one of the “missing links” in Otago that has now been completed. He also said that when the Millennium Track is finished between Wanaka and Glendhu Bay, it will be possible to walk from Lake Hawea to Queenstown in about 6 to 8 days. It will also be a beautiful cycle ride from Lake Hawea to Glendhu Bay.
View Hawea River Track in a larger map
Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Clive Geddes in his speech stated that the the opening of the track was a “pretty clear statement to us all that they (UCTT) are going to deliver on the strategy they have put together”.
Meg Taylor, John Pawson’s widow, also gave a short speech before cutting a ribbon and declaring the track officially open.
Rush Hour at the Hawea River Track Bridge Opening
The track was made possible by funding from
Department Of Conservation Te Araroa Funds
New Zealand Transport Authority
Queenstown Lakes District Council
And with the support of
Peter & Dawn Ward
Forest Range Ltd
Tracks Trust News July 2009
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009
Hawea River Track – Official Opening – Sunday 2nd August
Hawea Bridge From Butterfield Reserve 9th July
The Upper Clutha Tracks Trust
is thrilled to announce the official opening of
The Hawea River Track
a fantastic project only made possible through the generous help and support of
Central Lakes Trust, Otago Community Trust, Queenstown Lakes District Council,
Department of Conservation, Te Araroa Trust, NZTA, Lakes Environment Services Ltd
Peter & Dawn Ward, Forest Range Farms Ltd and many others,
so
please come and join us
to celebrate this already highly popular addition to our track network
1pm Sunday 2 August 2009
at the new Hawea River swingbridge
Vehicle access from the eastern side of the Albert Town bridge
Come prepared to walk or ride some of the track as a community celebration
Hawea River Track
Work continues on the Hawea Bridge as contractors Fulton Hogan prepare it for the official opening celebration on Sunday 2nd August. The bridge underwent a “load test” on Thursday 9th July which is a crucial stage in preparing it for public use. One of the ways the bridge was tested was by placing a large “balloon” on the centre of the bridge and pumping it full of river water – approximately 3 tonnes!
Hawea Bridge undergoing a Load Test 9th July 2009
The bridge passed with flying colours and there are only a few finishing touches required. These works should be completed by the end of next week (17th July).
The Trust hope that there will a good community turnout for the official opening to help us celebrate the completion of of our 1st major project.
The Hawea River Track was one of the “missing links” in the Te Araroa long distance track that will run from Cape Reinga To Bluff. The Te Araroa Track is scheduled to open in 2010 and the Tracks Trust is very proud to be associated with the project and to be able to complete the missing link.
Millennium Track
The Millennium Track is being extended from Ironside Trig to Glendhu Bay in 2 stages.
Stage 2
This is the section from Ironside Trig to Damper Bay and is being funded and managed by Otago Regional Council. The tender for this work was advertised a few months ago, and the Trust has been advised that subject to some further information being received, Otago Regional Council hope to let the contract in the next couple of weeks. It is anticipated that this section will be finished in early summer.
Stage 3
This is the section between Damper Bay and Glendhu Bay, and is being funded and managed by QLDC with assistance and support from the Tracks Trust and Department of Conservation. From a construction point of view, the hardest part of this track around the Bluffs at Damper Bay has already been completed and the rest of the track is currently under construction. It is hoped that this will be finished by early summer.
Track Under Construction At Damper Bay Bluffs
These two stages are also “missing links” in the Te Araroa Project, and again the Tracks Trust is proud to be able to be a part of the national project.
Albert Town to Luggate Track
This will run from Albert Town to Luggate on the true right of the Clutha River and cross the Cardrona River on a new bridge a few hundred metres upstream from the confluence of the Cardrona and Clutha Rivers. The bridge plans are completed and all the resource consents are in place. The project is being managed on behalf of the Tracks Trust by the Department of Conservation, and the tender to construct the bridge should be advertised later this month.
The challenging part of the track to build is just downstream from Albert Town at the Haliday Bluffs, but a track line has been identified through this terrain and continues close to the river until an easier route is available on the river terrace upstream from Stevenson’s Rd.
Hard track construction work ahead at Haliday Bluff Albert Town
The route from Stevensons Road to Short Cut Rd was marked with warratahs and signposted by DOC about 18 months ago and passes the Reko’s Point historic gold workings. This section will be upgraded later as part of the project.
Track from Stevensons Rd To Reko's Point
Carparks at Albert Town and near the Red Bridge have already been created for the track.
New car park at Albert Town
New car park Shortcut Rd Luggate
Clutha River near Shortcut Rd
NEW TRACK IDEAS
The Trust is always looking for suggestions for new tracks from the public. If you have any ideas or suggestions please contact Tim Dennis on
Upper Clutha Tracks Trust
03 443 5733 (evenings only)
PO Box 713, Wanaka
Support Us
We are a Registered Charitable Trust (1898188) and are registered with the new Charities Commission (CC38956). We welcome financial donations or donations of skills and services to assist us develop new walking and cycling tracks.