Give it heaps for the Heaphy!

Nydia Bay. If the Heaphy is even half as epic it is well worth fighting for!

The Heaphy track in North-West Nelson has long been forbidden fruit for New Zealand's mountainbikers, with a bushell of premium singletrack off limits due to the tracks location within the Kahurangi National Park.

The track begins near Rockville in Golden Bay and traverses some of this country's most picturesque and ecologically diverse areas, largely due to the geological buffet that forms the park's ridges and valleys. After 80km of bliss the tracks ends in Karamea. Riders of the older school were allowed access before the status of the park was changed, and recall memories of riding the track with a twinkle in their eyes.

T-Dog on the Nydia. This could be you on the Heaphy!

Given this, it is no surprise that mountainbike access to the Heaphy has been the subject of much campaigning to the Department of Conservation (DOC). A decade or so of concerted effort is finally bearing fruit, with a revised draft plan allowing seasonal access between May and October now out for comment.

In stark contrast to earlier interactions with government departments, DOC have made the process as easy as pie!
What better way is there to exercise your democratic right than voicing your support for the changes to the management plan. The plan itself can be found here, with an easy online submission form and guidelines for voicing your views provided. Section 4.1.A (Page 76) is of concern to mountain bikers with details of the proposed access arrangements provided. The deadline is the 4th of September, so be sure to put a submission through before then.

So give it heaps, and we could all soon be riding the singletrack jem that is the Heaphy!

Mountain Pedaler out...