REES - DART TRACK TO REOPEN
Apr 29, 2016
The Dart Track, closed since January last year, will be reopened this summer and work is scheduled to begin on a new section of track at the end of winter.
Department of Conservation Wakatipu operations manager Geoff Owen said the full Rees-Dart circuit would be accessible from November, after the Te Koroka-Slip Stream area landslip in January 2015 caused ongoing issues.
The Sandy Flat section succumbed to the continual undercutting erosion of the river and while some sections of the track could have been made accessible with a rough cut and marked realignment, the frequently changing landscape caused by the slip posed a high risk of losing any newly-constructed track, Mr Owen said.
"Our emphasis is on getting the Dart Track open so visitors can travel safely through the area and once again enjoy the full glory of both the Dart and Rees Valleys.
"Although trampers have been able to access the Rees Valley throughout the closure period, we have always been working towards ensuring the full circuit would reopen.
"The closure of the Dart Track section has had significant implications for the destination as a whole and has left a number of important assets under-utilised.
"Our priority is getting people back out there.''
The department had been forced to take a wait and watch approach after the river environment became "particularly volatile'' following heavy rain.
Mr Owen said it had been essential to give the surroundings time to settle and the most recent site visit last month confirmed the area had stabilised enough for a new, permanent alignment to be developed away from the eroding force of the river.
Work on the new 4.4km route, to be constructed to tramping track standards, would begin at the end of winter.
That would be developed "passively'' to flow with the natural landscape, with minimal construction and rock blasting.
By Tracey Roxburgh on Sat, 16 Apr 2016, OTAGO DAILY TIMES
By: Tracey Roxburgh, ODT
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