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SUPPLIED / Stuff
The Ruahine Range has access problems that seem to be getting worse.
As backyard tourism draws more people to the hills than ever before, access to some wilderness environments becomes more restricted as homeowners become frustrated by the abuses.
Wanderers and hunters have long enjoyed the privilege of entering forest parks in the Tararua and Ruahine mountain ranges in the lower North Island via private land, but goodwill was running low.
Dan Tuohy, from the Palmerston North Department of Conservation office, said there were three places in northwest Ruahines where people were previously allowed access to private land, but now they were restricted.
“Some of our agreed accesses have been made by word of mouth or through the goodwill of farmers.
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“95 percent of the people respect him. That five percent don’t even care and see it as their divine right to have access to this forest park.
“They have to understand, we have negotiated that access where we can and most of the time it is for the good will of the farmer because he does not want them to interfere in his agricultural operations because that is his livelihood.
In recent years, three access points in the north of the Ruahine Range have been closed or restricted, including Kawhatau, Mokai Patea and Purity to the northwest.
Outdoor recreation author Shaun Barnett said Ruahine Forest Park was susceptible to access issues due to its shape and setting.
“La Ruahine is peculiar because it is long and thin surrounded by farmland, and there is usually a lot of farmland to go.”
supplied / Stuff
Access to the Upper Western Ruahine Range has become more restricted over the years, with owners refusing to access.
Tramper Jean Garmin of Ruahine User Group does not blame landowners for further restrictions and said the public must respect the conditions of access.
“In the past, I don’t think that was a big problem because people understood each other better and were a little more respectful. For the most part, there were only gentlemen’s agreements and that seemed to work well. “
She said owners had cited changes in ownership of the brush blocks, aggressive members of the public and poaching as reasons for withdrawing access.
“Sometimes people will almost demand access instead of asking permission to cross what is owned by this person.”
Garmin said it learned that a farmer was being reported for animal welfare issues that turned out to be nothing unusual.
Tess Brunton / RNZ
Great Walks like the Milford Track are getting more bookings than ever despite Covid.
DOC Strategy and Knowledge Manager Tim Bamford said bookings and follow-up tracking showed that DOC land use continued to be strong, particularly on weekends and holidays.
“Despite border restrictions, we are seeing many DOC facilities remain busy this year and bookings are up nine percent for our Great Walks, compared to the same time last year, even with shortened seasons on popular Milford and Routeburn tracks. ”
Wairarapa had its own access problems to the Tararua Forest Park.
A route through farmland that was closed had become popular thanks to the promotion of a place known as the New Zealand Geographical Center.
GNS Science / Things
A plaque marking the center of New Zealand is next to a walking trail in the Tararua Range near Greytown. Cornel de Ronde and Jenny Black from GNS Science are shown with the marker.
A farmer who had left people on his land for 30 years had enough and blocked the way.
Stuff approached him, but did not want to speak in public.
Kathy Houkamau of the DOC’s Wairarapa office said they had tried to resolve access through the property and admitted that more people had wanted to pass in the past few years since the landmark was promoted.
“Most of the time, when we have access problems, there are paper roads and the roads do not follow public access. The [the farmer] has had some major security issues and has had some incidents there involving members of the public and actions.
“We don’t want people to find themselves in a situation where a bull is crowing them.”
