Funding for Queenstown trail extension

The Queenstown Trails Trust has secured government funding for another extension to its growing network of mountain bike trails in the Wakatipu Basin.

Tourism Minister Stuart Nash announced in Arrowtown yesterday the Government had approved funding for a 10.5km trail, from Lake Hayes Estate to Gibbston, from its New Zealand Cycle Trails fund.

The money is coming from a $6.7 million allocation that is also being applied to two other trail extensions - connecting Arthurs Point, Tucker Beach and Arrowtown - for which consent is now being considered by independent commissioners.

Mr Nash said the new trail would connect to a proposed commuter trail, from Jacks Point to Frankton, which is expected to be built as part of the Wakatipu Active Travel Network, a programme jointly funded by the Queenstown Lakes District Council and NZ Transport Agency (NZTA).

The new projects would improve the Queenstown Trail by realigning it, making it a ‘‘more clearly defined, world-class multi-day cycle route’’ that showed off the Wakatipu’s history, landscapes and vineyards, Mr Nash said.