No other developments until Queenstown trail completed

Finishing the ambitious 90km-plus Queenstown trail is the main focus for the Wakatipu Trails Trust with completion due next year, chairman Terry Stevens says.

Mr Stevens said that because the project, which links tracks from Gibbston and Arrowtown and Lake Hayes, all the way back to Queenstown, was so big, the trust would not be taking on any other developments until its completion.

"It is scheduled to be completed in 2012, so we won't be doing much else until then," he said.

The Queenstown trail was one of the preferred trails that was announced as part of the National Government's New Zealand Cycle Trail project, and the trust has received $1.8 million for construction of the trail.

The revised cost of the development is between $5 and $6 million.

Trust patron Sir Eion Edgar said the fully completed trail would create all sorts of opportunities for locals and visitors.

"The fantastic thing about it is that not only will it make it easier for schoolchildren to get to school, or give locals the ability to either walk or cycle these new tracks, you can head out to Gibbston, go out to Chard Farm, or you can go to Arrowtown, so it's creating lots of opportunities to explore or get to other areas off the road."

He said it would also have the added dimension as an attraction for tourists.

"For tourists, what do they do more than anything? They walk or cycle.

So this latest trail is a great addition to our product range.

It's one of the more enjoyable things I've been involved with because it caters for everyone," Sir Eion said.