Forest cleanup for Tuki Festival

Glendhu Station owners John and Emily McRae and Tuki Festival director Lynne Christie (centre) discuss where to position the festival stage. PHOTO: KERRIE WATERWORTH

Preparations for the 2018 Tuki Festival in Wanaka began recently when Glendhu Station owners and volunteers held the first of what are expected to be many working bees at the new concert venue.

Tuki Festival director Lynne Christie said the lakefront festival venue at Glendhu Bay included access to a forest which would provide entertainment and much-needed shade but ``there was a lot of work to be done to make sure it was safe and free of forest debris.''

About 25 volunteers joined Ms Christie and the McRae family in removing dead branches and tidying up the site.

Ms Christie announced recently after 20 years of festivals at the Rippon Vineyard the festival was changing its name to ``Tuki'' and moving to land owned by the McRae family opposite the Glendhu Bay camping ground.