News and media
Ocean to Ocean to go
Te Araroa’s 120 km Ocean to Ocean leg is set to complete this year, with two farm deals now agreed.
The O2O leg of Te Araroa runs from Ahipara on the Far North's western coast, to Kerikeri on the east. It traverses mainly forest until it departs from Puketi Forest Headquarters, to cross 12 kilometres of farmland into Kerikeri.
“We now have the deals that allow us through that farmland,” says Te Araroa’s Geoff Chapple.
A Te Araroa team has already put the first stiles in place, but more major works include a new race, a concrete ford, 3 kilometres of fencing, and a swing bridge across the Kerikeri River. The entire work, including the necessary consents, will finish "before the next tramping season," says Te Araroa’s project manager in the far north, Greg Blunden.
Te Araroa Trust first began work on the Ocean to Ocean route in 2003, when it financed the cost of a new track across the Herekino Forest. The Department of Conservation assisted that track, and the two organisations have worked together since to complete other sections through Raetea, Omahuta and Puketi forests.
“But when we come off Public Conservation Land, we’re on our own,” said Chapple, He thanked the ASB Community Trust for providing the majority of the budget for the present completion link.
Construction Manager Noel Sandford (right) and Andrew Smith put in a stile on one of the farms Pic G. Chapple
