The Trust

Te Araroa Trust's board is: Roger Wilson (chair), Bob Harvey (deputy chair), David Beattie, Michael Fitchett, David McGregor, Neil Macintyre, Kim Ollivier and Jenny Wheeler (Trustees).

Geoff Chapple is CEO, Fiona Mackenzie is northern region project manager and Noel Sandford is construction manager. Ken Taylor is treasurer and Miriam Beatson is secretary.

The Trust's patrons are Sir Edmund Hillary and Sir Wilson Whineray.

The Trust's mission is to get a New Zealand-long walking trail in place by the end of the year 2010.

Trail History

The idea of a walking trail the length of New Zealand has been around for over 25 years. The Federated Mountain Clubs proposed the concept in the mid-1970s, and development of a north-south route was a priority for the New Zealand Walkway Commission.

The Commission began in 1976 under the wing of the Department of Lands and Survey. It ceased to function effectively at the time the Department of Conservation was formed in 1987, and was technically abolished when the Walkways Act of 1990 gave management of New Zealand tracks to DoC, and the initative for suggested new walkways to the Conservation Boards.

In 13 years the NZWC had put in place over 100 walkways, but had not designed a continuous north-south trail. Conservation Boards - those bodies appointed by the Minister of Conservation to represent the public in their oversight of DoC conservancies - and their controlling board, the Conservation Authority, were now the first agency for getting new walkways in place, but the boards and the authority did little. The Walkway Policy published by DoC in 1995 acknowledged the continued existence of the long trail project, but DoC didn’t push for it. The department was, at its beginning, under-funded and trails were low on its agenda. The New Zealand-long trail idea was forgotten - until Te Araroa Trust arrived.

In consultation with local authorities, regional authorities, iwi and other interested groups, Te Araroa Trust designed a route. It then suggested local authorities do their bit to put it in place. It had some success with this. The Whangarei District Council, as one example, adopted a walkways plan - part of Te Araroa - the length of its district. Other councils have put the route into their district plan. In March 2001, the trail project was adopted by the Mayors Taskforce for Jobs, an alliance of over 50 councils.

The trust also wanted to engage DoC more directly in the project. Both the Director-General of DoC, Hugh Logan, and the Minister of Conservation, Chris Carter, were sympathetic to this, and in October 2001 the Department signed a Memorandum of Agreement that specified how DoC and the trust would co-operate on the project.

The trust also became a trail builder. In 1995 it opened a 22 km path between Waitangi and Kerikeri. In 2000 it opened an 18 km route from Meremere to Rangiriri along the Waikato River. In 2001 it opened an 8 km track across Mt Tamahunga behind Leigh township. In 2002 it stiled another 12 km section of the Waikato through to Huntly. In 2002 it began an 120 km Ocean to Ocean walk from Ahipara to Kerikeri in the Far North. As part of that walk it opened a 15 km track through the Herekino Forest in April 2003, stiled a further 6 km of pine-forest track from the exit of the Herekino Forest through to Takahue, and improved the Mangamuka Walkway beyond Takahue.

Read about The Long Pathway

The Trust can be contacted via email at info@teararoa.org.nz or at PO Box 5106, Wellesley Street, Auckland, New Zealand. The Trust is a registered charity, and any donations will be acknowledged with a tax deductible receipt.