Great weather, loads of activities and a
strong turn out of supporters made the
official opening of the TECT All Terrain
Park a great success.
Images courtesy of Tracy Hardy
Park staff, volunteers and user group
representatives pulled out all the stops to
mark the significance of this milestone in
the development of the Park. Starting with
a traditional karakia from local iwi, the two
mayors and chair of the Tauranga Energy
Consumer Trust (TECT) gave opening
speeches before the ribbon-cutting of the
new arrival centre. This effectively opened
stage one of the park and kicked off the
celebration of all the work on the ground
and in the chambers of local government
that have produced this multi-purpose
park.
After the official ceremony, opening day
was oriented to showcase all the effort that
has gone into getting the park developed
and to give user groups a chance to
demonstrate what their respective clubs
have been working on. With activities
spread around all corners of the park
and YMCA mini- buses providing shuttle
services, it was not too busy at the central
hub but traffic counters indicated well over
1800 people came into the park to take part
in the day.
Opening day gave the public a great
chance to see the potential of the park
with demonstrations of rally car driving,
motorkhana, 4WD events, motorcycle
activities, clay target shooting, mountain
bike trail riding, dog sledding and pony
rides. Three helicopters were involved
in filming, firefighting and rescue
demonstrations.
A television documentary made during the
opening day has been broadcast on Central
Rotorua TV. A 2 minute version of the film
will be available on the new TECT All Terrain
Park website planned for launch in April.
Several hundred people visited the park
on Sunday, 12 December, the day after
the official opening of stage one of
development.
Story continues inside…
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TECT All Terrain Park was a great venue
for February’s Bike Wise programme and
the events attracted a good muster of
cyclists of all ages.
Held in the area being developed by
Tauranga Mountain Bike Club, the Sport
Bay of Plenty event was aimed at beginners
of all ages and was led by park intern
Rasmus Arvidson and trail coordinator
Murray Avery.
It was great to see so many mums and dads
with youngsters in tow (or in the back bike
seat) try their skills on the 2km family trail,
the kids loop and the pump track.
Many also cycled the more adventurous
trail across the river, through native bush
and up the Mangapikopiko mountain
where great views can be enjoyed looking
south to Tarawera, east to Mt Edgecumbe
or north to Mauao and Mayor Island.
A bundle of impressive prizes sponsored by
New Zealand Transport Agency and Avanti
were given out for various challenges set
for competitors and those lucky winners
went home with helmets, T-shirts and bike
accessories.
Sport Bay of Plenty Bike Wise coordinator
Nicki Miller said it was great to be part of
the day.
“Tauranga is a great place for cycling and
the aim of Bike Wise Month is to encourage
more people to give it a go.”
“The TECT All Terrain Park is a fantastic
resource for Tauranga.
“The tracks and trails being developed at
the park provide a wonderful opportunity
for the whole family to get on their bikes
and have a go at Mountain Biking. It’s
great to have this addition to the Bike Wise
calendar and we look forward to seeing
as many people experiencing the park as
possible,’’ said Nicki.
Tauranga Mountain Bike Club
representative Marty Robinson was rapt
to see so many people come to the park,
many of
whom were
discovering
the park for
the first time. Club
members have put in
hours of work preparing
a range of trails for all
ages and levels so Bike
Wise Day was a good
chance for newcomers to
have a go.
Bike Wise Month, held
in February every year,
consists of a number of
activities and events
across the country,
including the
Mayoral Challenge,
Go By Bike Day
and the Bike Wise
Challenge.
e riders
Bike Wis
A fam
the Keily day out fo
lly fam
r
ily
Walking the Te Rerenga Tunnel Trail is
a delightful way to spend a couple of
hours away from the hustle and bustle
of the city.
After leaving the tunnel the trail follows the
stream bed and opens into a lovely glade
which has become home to the scouts for
outdoor camps and a Bike Wise event.
Starting out from the Arrival Centre the
Grade 3 trail is well signposted and already
well-trodden.
A Redwood bench table takes pride of place
in the glade and serves as the dinner table
for the campers.
Before heading in to the trees you’ll see a
pond with young plantings beginning to
establish – this is a special project adopted
by the pupils, parents and teachers of the
Rudolph Steiner School in Welcome Bay.
The 4km Te Rerenga Trail is great for a fitness
jog, a relaxed walk with a friend or the dog,
or a forest adventure with the kids to explore
the historic tunnel. This trail is about an
hour-and-a-half at an easy walking pace and
loops back to Whataroa Road and the Arrival
Centre.
The Te Rerenga Trail itself is cruisy walking
mainly on a downhill grade and meanders
through pines, native shrubs and lovely
bush canopy, finally dropping into the
stream bed and hand-hewn tunnel.
The trail has been prepared with
boardwalks, steps and bridges to make it
safe and easy.
Since opening in December the TECT
All Terrain Park has been abuzz with
motorcyclists, horse riders, mountain bikers
and walkers.
During the Christmas and summer break a
steady stream of visitors has been testimony
to the public’s curiosity to discover this new
adventure playground.
Park Manager Ric Balfour says it has been
rewarding to see the many different types of
users test out the park’s terrain and feedback
has been extremely positive.
Over the holidays the park has been the
venue for a YMCA holiday programme, a
pony club event and four BikeWise events.
The Te Rerenga Trail to the historic tunnel has
been particularly popular during summer
and boasts a newly formed track with bridges
and boardwalks.
The Magic Bus Company brings overseas
visitors to the park to take part in various
activities including walking the
Te Rerenga trail, and later this year
they will be planting native trees and
monitoring bird life.
The 60-metre tunnel was built with pick,
shovel and wheelbarrow in the early 1930s
to deviate the Te Rerenga Stream beneath
the new highway. It is believed to have taken
three years to complete but no detail has
been found of the identity of the tunnellers.
Tauranga Mountain Bike Club and Pikopiko
Equestrian have helped establish trails in the
park and Councils have built a family-friendly
motorcycle area that has been one of the
busier sites over summer.
Bay of Plenty Paintball and Tauranga Airsoft
are developing sites and the gun clubs (Clay
Target, Pistol and Deerstalkers’ Association)
have begun earthmoving on their respective
sites with ranges expected to be opened later
this year.
Ric welcomes groups to contact him if they
would like to use the park for special activities
– email [email protected]
• Take a small torch for the tunnel
• Sturdy shoes
• Warm clothing
There are glow worms and cave wetas in
the tunnel so please limit the noise and use
of torches. These natural inhabitants have
been there 80 years and we want them to
stay.
PF Olsen has recently ins
talled new signs
around the Park on the
boundaries of
the pine plantations tha
t they manage
on behalf of Hancock’s
and the overseas
owner – Ontario Teache
rs Public Pension
Fund.
When the park was purch
ased about
two thirds of the trees we
re under a
cutting right that limits
entry and restricts
recreation development
until the trees have
been harvested.
Since 2008 approximately
210ha have been
clear felled and handed-ba
ck to Council.
These areas are being pla
nted with a
variety of trees including
Douglas-fir, Larch,
Redwood and Lusitanica
. Some areas within
the Ecological Corridor are
scheduled for
natural regeneration or
replanting into
native species. They are
also now available
for trail development and
other proposals.
Please respect the cuttin
g rights areas
as they require permissio
n to enter. The
forestry company could
have logging, road
building or other silvicu
ltural operations
(spraying, mowing, prunin
g) under way at
any time, with no notice
.
Signage for the mountain bike and horse
riding trails is being erected at the park.
Horse and bike riders met last month to
discuss which trails would be exclusive to
each sport and which could be shared by
both cyclists and horses.
Some problems had occurred in the first
month of the park’s opening when horse
riders became lost and wandered on to
mountain bike trails, causing some damage.
Park Ranger Jarron McInnes says the two
groups are communicating well and are
prepared to understand each other’s needs.
“That makes it so much easier for us as the
managers,” says Jarron. “It’s all a matter of
good signage, good communication and
educating users from the start as to where
they can and cannot ride.”
Meanwhile work is ongoing in all parts of
the park developing new trails for mountain
bikers, motorcyclists and walkers.
Motorcycle tracks are fairly limited at
present, but trail coordinator Murray
Avery is keen for motorcyclists to give him
some ideas and plans as to what types
and distances of trails they would like
built.
“There’s a lot of land out there with good
contour and good drainage into the
gullies and there’s enough land for a
great motocross course.” says Murray.
“Getting somewhere to play on a dirt
bike is difficult and to come this far
out of town brings an expectation that
there will be longer trails – but over
time we will develop more distance
and difficulty into the network of trails.”
The Te Rerenga Historic Tunnel Track
has been one of the more popular
features of the park since it opened
in December and work is continuing
on that, including building a safe
walkway through the old tunnel.
Researchers at Scion wo
uld like to invite you to
a
focus group to help ide
ntify how the current use
rs
of the TECT All Terrain
Park value their resou
rce.
Of particular interest to
the project are the
opinions of walkers, mo
untain bikers, horse
riders and motorcyclist
s about the park settin
g
for those activities.
Scion is a Crown Research
Institute and the inform
ation
gathered will be very use
ful in the sustainable
management of New Zea
land’s forest resources fro
ma
recreational perspective.
The objective is to determ
ine the forest ecosystem
services most valued by
people in a specific area
in New
Zealand. The value of a
bundle of ecosystem ser
vices
from a New Zealand cas
e study can potentially pro
vide
increased revenue to lan
d managers and enhanc
e
environmental outcome
s.
The project is being done
in conjunction with the
TECT
All Terrain Park and there
will be immediate benefit
s
to the park staff from the
information gained from
the
survey and focus group.
The focus group will last
approximately 2 hours, wit
h
light dinner provided to
help keep focus up.
An important componen
t of the study is a quick
questionnaire that can be
done even if you cannot
make
the focus group meeting
itself. It will help to have
as
many responses as possib
le from people using the
Park.
Here are the details abo
ut the Focus Group meetin
g:
Date: Monday the 28th
of March
Venue: WBOPDC Barke
s Corner office Committe
e
Room 3
Time: 5:30pm- 7:30pm
Survey link: http://www
.surveymonkey.com/s/
tectallterrainparkquestion
naire
Please RSVP
by March 25th if
you are able to
attend.
Call Luke at 07
343 5437 or email
Luke.Barry@
scionresearch.
com
Volunteers are playing
a valuable role in track
clearing and building
alongside the park staff.
Thanks for your help and
if you
can’t make it personally,
please
recommend this opportu
nity to
someone else in your clu
b or network
that uses the park.
Park copes well
with storm
Torrential rain dropped 800mm of water
over the park in just two days in January
but much to the delight of park staff the
tracks and trails stood up pretty well.
The storm on the weekend of January
22-23 brought 600mm on Saturday and
another 200mm on Sunday, causing
Park Ranger Jarron McInnes and Trail
Co-ordinator Murray Avery to fear the worst
when they ventured out to inspect the
damage. Power was cut to the Park when a
tree fell across lines at Te Matai Road.
Apart from a few fallen pines across the
walking trail and some wash-outs on the
tunnel track, the park stood up
really well.
“It was certainly a great way to find
out what wasn’t going to work,”
says Murray.
“But we were pretty pleased with
the way the trails coped.’’
The park was closed to the public
for a couple of days following the storm
to ensure that all trails and tracks could
be checked and cleared of fallen trees and
other debris. Power was quickly restored to
the ranger station by a Powerco crew.
great way to
a
ly
in
ta
r
e
c
“It was
’t going to
n
s
a
w
t
a
h
w
d
find out
retty please
p
e
r
e
w
e
w
work, but
coped.’’
s
il
a
tr
e
th
y
with the wa
d Rasmus
Murray Avery an
len trees
Arvidson clear faltrail after
ng
lki
wa
e
th
m
fro
the storm.
Julia loves rience
park expe
to gain park
rnational intern
te
in
r
ee
nt
lu
vo
the latest
rrain Park.
Julia Wagner is
at the TECT All Te
e
nc
rie
pe
ex
t
weeks
managemen
of Bonn spent six
of the University
te
ua
ish new
ad
bl
gr
ta
an
es
g
rm
in
rk staff help
pa
e
The 27-year-old Ge
sid
ng
alo
g
in
to January work
ts.
from December
on special projec
surveys and work
ke
rta
de
un
,
ils
tra
a public camping
al for the layout of
os
op
re.
pr
a
p
lo
ve
s to de
to the Arrival Cent
Her main task wa
e central hub next
th
r
fo
ed
er
id
ns
ing co
ground that is be
ic table and
each with a picn
es
sit
p
m
ca
l
ua
cludes individ
campground
ities in the wider
Julia’s proposal in
tiv
ac
r
fo
s
ea
id
’s chalet – a new
inclusion of
set up the worker
fireplace and the
ed
lp
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o
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e
pe course. Sh
me.
areas such as a ro
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e
alia and
addition to th
nteering in Austr
d spent time volu
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ding
Ju
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te
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and Tauran
Before joining th
bles in Auckland
sta
rse
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Pa
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several months wo
illip and Sally Stein
l show jumpers Ph
na
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time
it will be a valuab
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rra
Te
l
Al
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CT
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TE
pa
at
her time
at various
She has enjoyed
mpleted last year
co
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sh
ip
sh
rn
te
to an in
for her CV, adding
Australia.
s,
ale
W
er lots
New South
a great idea to off
essive. I think it is
pr
im
is
not easy
rk
is
Pa
it
–
in
ll
joy at their wi
en
“The TECT All Terra
d
an
e
m
co
to
tivities from
es for people
many different ac
so
of outdoor activiti
do
n
ca
u
yo
e
as this wher
” says Julia.
to find a spot such
g to horse riding,
tin
oo
sh
et
rg
ta
d
e park
motorcycling an
contributor to th
Julia was a great
id
sa
ur
e to
lfo
nc
Ba
rie
c
Ri
pe
cent ex
Park Manager
ty training and re
bringing universi
rk.
working at the pa
her
Voluntee
Julia returned to
r in
Wagner tern student Ju
berg in
m
Ba
of
n
on the st
li
hometow
eps of th a
e
workers
ruary where
chalet
Bavaria in mid-Feb
ing for a job.
she will start look
a Diploma
A graduate with
hopes to
e
in Geography sh
vironmental
en
pursue a career in
rking in the field
education or wo
and its impact
of climate change
untries.
in developing co
looks
In the future she
ing
rn
tu
forward to re
d
an
nd
to New Zeala
th
wi
catching up
progress at the
park.
Grandfather of
Motocross finds
Park a ‘blast’
Peter Gibson from Whakatane will definitely be back
on the TECT All Terrain Park motorcycle area before
too long.
The 71-year-old motorbike enthusiast spent an
afternoon blasting around the new motocycle tracks
at the park recently and he certainly left an impression
on Park Ranger Jarron McInnes.
“This guy is amazing,” says Jarron. “He is 71 years
old and rides a Yamaha YZ 250. For some of us just
the thought of hanging onto something that big is
daunting enough let alone at 71. The whole time I
was talking to him out at the track he couldn’t stop
smiling.”
Peter was full of praise at the work done to date on
preparing the tracks and says he is looking forward
to when they get a bit longer and he can “blast
around” a few more kilometres.
Peter visited the park with a couple of his younger
mates from Tauranga. He is an ex member of the
Tarawera Trail Bike Club and has been riding since
he took up the sport at 30 when he bought two
bikes for his sons to ride.
He started with a Yamaha TT 250 and he is now
riding with his granddaughters. He owns a small
farm in Whakatane and rides whenever he can –
so the park is high on his list for more rides.
Peter is one of hundreds of motorcycle
enthusiasts, young and old, who have visited
the park over the summer break.
Peter Gibson from
Whakatane and his
Yamaha at the Pa
rk.
0311TP DEVCICH.CO.NZ
Want more information?
If you’d like more information about the TECT All Terrain Park visit:
www.westernbay.govt.nz/Major-Projects/TECT-All-Terrain-Park/
or call Ric Balfour at the Western Bay of Plenty District Council
on 07 571 8008, email [email protected]
Printed on 100% recycled paper.