News and media
First map
A four-page brochure of the Far North's Herekino (Orowhana) Track, including a downloadable trail map, is now available from Te Araroa's website under the 'Trail Maps' button.
The brochure was produced gratis by the GIS consultant Kim Ollivier, and includes a trail profile - a graphed cross-section of the terrain walkers encounter when tramping the new Far North track.
The new brochure includes -
A topographical map, showing track route. The map is in colour but should also be readable in black and white for those intending walkers who do not have colour printers.
A written track description, also a small location map showing track position and access roads from Kaitaia and Ahipara.
Short facts as to trail length, tramping times and hiking advice.
Local accommodation options, and data to help arrange dropoff and pickup at the trail heads.
The new brochure is the first of a series of brochures which will give Te Araroa walkers sufficient trail information to tramp safely across the various trail sections.
"We hope to slowly add similar brochures for our trail sections the length of the country," said Te Araroa Trust CEO Geoff Chapple. "Intending walkers should be patient though. For one thing, much of the trail is not in place. For another, each map is a three-day production effort and we don't have a lot of money to support the programme yet. We thank Kim for providing us with this first example. Part of the ongoing plan is to refine the trail maps further, including GPS waypoints, and we hope to pass at least some of the task to Auckland University, or some other tertiary institution as a student project."
Chapple said DoC information centres and the local-body-run i-SITEs will welcome the new download capacity, which, at 530kb would take only a few minutes.
"We're aware that the information centres are now receiving frequent requests for trail data from New Zealanders and overseas tourists who've read about Te Araroa. This should help."
