On Tuesday the 21st of December 2021, Todd Murphy Owner and Operator of Tip Trucks NZ Ltd started carting metal from a Wairoa quarry to Mahia. He spent the day before securing the tracks with his digger to allow a safe access to large trucks. Several hundreds tonnes of metal are now already waiting along the walkway for our gravelling team. A big thank you to Todd and his very efficient team for taking on this challenging job just before Christmas.
On Monday the 20th of December 2021, the installation of many interpretative signs started in several parts of the walkway. A big thank to Malcolm Westerlund and his team for their help. Although the walkway is not open for several months yet, these beautiful signs lift the profile of this community initiative. We are all looking forward to cutting the ribbon sometime in April 2022 if the weather is nice.
Metal and cartage prices have gone up significantly over the past few months. Nic has been exploring several options in order to save costs while selecting a good quality base for the walkway.
On the 2d of December 2021, Todd Murphy, Owner and Operator of Tip Truck Ltd came to access the work required of him. During this health and Safety visit, Todd went through all the tracks that he will use to stock pile 600 m3 of metal along the river. This work will help the graveling team by making the metal easily accessible and therefore should speed up the completion of the walkway.
A big thank you to Todd for spending time for the project
A severe storm hit the Whangawehi catchment in early November 2021 creating major slips and slumps. This has pushed back the opening date of the track to April 2022. In the meantime and for health and safety reasons, we ask the public to stay away from the walkway and respect the NO ENTRY sign installed at the beginning of the track. Thank you all for being understanding.
With more than 180 participating countries, the ENERGY GLOBE Award is today’s most prestigious environmental award. It is awarded annually to projects saving our environment by personal action, sustainable projects or campaigns for raising awareness in sustainability. The awards for these many projects are presented in the countries where the project has been implemented in cooperation with Energy Globe partners, in particular with the international offices of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce and UNIDO.
This is an amazing recognition for the work done by the Whangawehi Catchment Management Group, the community and Marae. We will keep you posted on the ceremony.
On Monday the 29th of November 2021, Jeff Carters from Southern Star Trails biked the track to assess the damages on the Whangawehi walkway after the November 2021 storm. This field visit will allow him to better plan the next stage for the repair work. His team will be back on board with machineries mid January.
Chris Wilson, local artist, has been working hard for the walkway. He is preparing a number of seats and tables that will be installed along the walkway in the next few months. A big thank you to Chris for his time and dedication.
Whangawehi Catchment Management Group 