UCCT members, from right, Tim Dennis, Rachel Brown, Grant
Fyfe, John Wellington, and Tom Rowley, on the recently
completed Hawea River swing bridge. Photo by Matthew
Haggart.
he Upper Clutha Tracks Trust will officially open the
$500,000 trail connecting Lake Hawea and Albert Town, next
weekend, now that the final link - a swing bridge spanning the
Hawea River - has been completed.
UCTT chairman Tim Dennis said the new 10km trail was already
a hit with young families, children, and outdoor enthusiasts.
"You go out [to the track] in the weekend and it is being
used by loads of people, walking and cycling," he said.
The new trail connects to the Outlet Track at Albert Town
which continues alongside the Clutha River and into Wanaka.
The UCCT is already forging ahead with the next stage of its
river corridor trails network and work is ready to start on a
new track from Albert Town, which will follow the true right
bank of the Clutha River through to Luggate.
The Albert Town-Luggate trail is scheduled to be completed by
the end of the year.
A bridge across the mouth of the Cardrona River will possibly
be named for the UCTT's founding chairman John Pawson, Mr
Dennis said.
Mr Pawson was a respected farmer, businessman, and community
figure in Wanaka, who died in a climbing accident on Mt
Aspiring, last November.
Eventually, the UCCT intends to have a network of trails,
which will link all of the Upper Clutha townships from Lake
Hawea and Luggate, through to Albert Town and Wanaka, and out
to Glendhu Bay.
A trail from Wanaka to the historic goldmining township of
Cardrona, following the Cardrona River, is also being
considered, he said.
An opening ceremony for the Hawea River trail will be held at
the swing bridge at 1pm on Sunday, August 2.
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