Holidaymakers are taking advantage of the dry and warm
weather and flocking to Southern walking tracks.
The Wanaka region was proving popular, with numbers on some
tracks up by more than 65% in December, compared with the
corresponding month in 2010, Department of Conservation (Doc)
Wanaka area manager Paul Hellebrekers said.
The number of people recorded using the West Matukituki track
by an electronic track counter rose 68.6% from 2631 in
December 2010 to 4435 in December 2011, and on the track to
Rob Roy Glacier in the same month, numbers rose by 51.2% from
2074 to 3136, Mr Hellebrekers said.
The numbers on the Rob Roy track were the highest in at least
five years.
Mr Hellebrekers said these numbers were indicative of track
use around the Wanaka region and could largely be attributed
to the warm and dry weather.
Other busy Doc tracks in the area included the Mt Iron track,
the Wanaka Outlet walking track, the Upper Clutha River track
and Diamond Lake.
"We have had about three weeks of pretty good weather in this
neck of the woods, which has made it perfect for people to
get out and about and walk the tracks and bike some of the
cycleways," Mr Hellebrekers said.
Increased use of Doc facilities had not resulted in
overcrowding and no incidents of visitor conflict had been
reported to staff so far this season, he said.
Doc staff had been very happy with the "positive atmosphere"
on the tracks and enjoyed seeing people using the facilities
they had "spent time and energy building and maintaining".
The Department of Conservation's Te Anau-based programme
manager Christine Officer said, as usual, track numbers on
the three Great Walks in Fiordland, the Milford, Routeburn
and Kepler, were close to fully booked over the December and
January holiday period.
However, anecdotally, Doc staff had noticed more people were
visiting the area and tramping other back country walks
because of the fine weather, she said.
Doc was pleased with overall numbers doing the Great Walks
this season. They had stayed similar to last season, after
Doc had forecast a 5% drop in numbers, because of the impact
global economic conditions and the Christchurch earthquake
had on tourist numbers.
"In our eyes [numbers staying steady] is quite a positive
thing, considering the conditions for tourism around the
country at the moment," she said.
Doc Queenstown Visitor Centre manager Clare Manners said
after a slow October and November the numbers of people using
tracks in the area were "pretty much the same" in December
2011 compared with December 2010.
Between 400 and 500 people had tramped the Greenstone and
Caples tracks in December 2011, which was about 5% or 6% down
on the previous December. About 550 had walked the Reece-Dart
track, which was up on last year's figures when closer to 400
went on the track, Ms Manners said.
The Queenstown Doc office was yet to compile track figures
for day walks in the previous year, she said.
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