Whale trail from Marlborough to Kaikōura making tracks

By Maia Hart, Local Democracy Reporter

The backers of a cycle and walkway from Picton to Kaikōura aim to make some significant gains over summer.

The plan comes after a newly finished clip-on bridge for the cycle trail "performed very well" through two different flood events in the region.

Known as the Whale Trail, the 210-kilometre cycleway was floated after the 2016 earthquake as a way to showcase the east coast as a tourism destination, rather than a thoroughfare.

Marlborough Kaikōura Trail Trust chair Luke van Velthooven and trustee Dr John Forrest presented an update on the trail at the Marlborough District Council's assets and services meeting last month.

The pair told councillors some of the challenges the trust had faced included significant post-Covid-19 costs, increases and delays.

Restricted construction windows, the relatively complex topography and getting KiwiRail approval within programme timelines had also proved challenging.

Despite an overly wet winter, van Velthooven said the clip-on bridge over the Wairau River had held up during flooding and "performed very well", with only one tree branch getting stuck on it.

The bridge, which came in a "quite staggering" $1.6 million under budget, was blessed by mana whenua last month, van Velthooven said.

Meanwhile, 5.7km of the Riverlands to Seddon portion of the trail had been completed. The final section of this leg was within a KiwiRail corridor north of the Awatere Bridge, with a goal of completing that by the end of this year.

The trust had also developed a memorandum of understanding with Fish and Game for the Para Wetland stretch, van Velthooven said.

Forrest said another key part of the trail development had been establishing a relationship with Te Rūnanga o Kaikōura - which they did not have at the beginning of the project.

"Stage two, from Seddon, of course, to Kaikōura is fully in their land and control, so there are multiple examples of where we are working together," Forrest said.

"We've worked very hard to have workable relationship with them."

He told councillors a section of the trail from Clarence to Mangamaunu, about 16km north of Kaikōura, was a "gap" in the project as it was supposed to be completed by North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery (NCTIR).

They had agreed to pick this up, but at present did not have the funding to complete it, Forrest said.

"The government has accepted that it wasn't in our project. It's fair to say that they have some responsibility to fund it ... we'll wait and see."

He said it was likely Clarence to Magamaunu would become an "alpine experience" through the valley as it could not be along the seaside route. These details were being finalised.

The Whale Trail was designed to be easily-accessed from a number of entry and exit points. It would combine new cross-country trails across hills, existing paths and quiet country roads. The trust would also work with iwi to develop a cultural interpretation along the trail.

Toilets would be constructed every 10 to 15km, and regular rest breaks every 5 to 10km.

More than a third of the route was owned by KiwiRail, Waka Kotahi NZTA, NCTIR and the Department of Conservation, but another third would require agreements with private landowners. About 10 percent of the route could use existing pathways.

The "shovel-ready" project has been made possible by $18m in funding from the government's regional economic development organisation, Kānoa - RDU. The government also paid for the technical study to identify the route, cost the project and develop a business case.

The Marlborough District Council has committed $2m for the section of the trail within Marlborough's boundary.

Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.