User numbers on the Twin Coast Cycle Trail have fallen sharply since part of the trail between Ōpua and Taumarere was closed in late 2021. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Cyclists will be able to ride the most popular section of the Twin Coast Cycle Trail this summer after a closure lasting more than a year.
The closure of the Ōpua-Taumarere section of the coast-to-coast trail in late 2021 frustrated local walkers and cyclists and slashed the income of businesses relying on the cycleway for customers.
However, from December 26 cyclists will once again be able to ride from Ōpua to Te Ake Ake — a distance of about 4km — and from there they will be able to load their bikes onto a train for the short trip to Taumarere, just east of Kawakawa.
The rest of the trail, from Taumarere to Horeke in South Hokianga, remains open.
The solution agreed by the Far North District Council and the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway Trust is precisely the same as that proposed to keep the trail open last summer while work continued to restore the historic railway line along part of the route.
It’s not clear why the plan fell over last year but it occurred around the same time the council pulled out of a partnership working to create a combined cycle, train and vintage ferry experience between Ōpua and Kawakawa.
The council then pulled up cycle bridges along the route, to the consternation of local users.
However, the bridges have since been reinstated, the council has rejoined the partnership known as Northern Adventure Experience (NAX), and it seems the country’s only coast-to-coast cycle trail is now back on track.
David Clamp, the council’s major and recovery projects manager, said most of the 87km Pou Herenga Tai-Twin Coast Cycle Trail was built on disused railway corridors leased by the Far North District Council from KiwiRail.
However, the corridor between Kawakawa and Ōpua was leased by the railway trust instead.
The trust then sub-let the Ōpua to Taumarere section to the council for the cycle trail.
Clamp said that part of the trail was hugely popular thanks to its picturesque location next to Kawakawa River and its proximity to other tourism hotspots.
The sub-lease agreement specified the corridor would return to railway trust control once it was ready to run trains all the way to Ōpua.
To make sure the trail could be used this summer, Clamp said the railway trust had agreed to release the rail corridor between Ōpua and Te Ake Ake.
Cyclists and walkers who wanted to continue their journey could then catch a train, for a gold coin donation, from Te Ake Ake, also known as Lone Cow, to Taumarere.
Trains would run three times a day from December 26 to February 12. The timetable would be available on the Twin Coast Cycle Trail’s Facebook page.
Work currently underway to reinstate the cycleway between Ōpua and Te Ake Ake included removing weeds and other obstacles and upgrading a rail tunnel overpass.
This was due to be completed by Boxing Day, when the vintage railway’s summer timetable kicked in.
Lau’rell Pratt, NAX acting development manager, welcomed the trail’s reopening.
“We think the train connection adds excitement to the coast-to-coast experience. We’re looking forward to a good season and hosting cyclists on the train.”
In the longer term the council was planning to build a permanent cycle trail alongside the reinstated railway, Clamp said.
The council would soon start negotiating with KiwiRail on a long-term lease for part of the Ōpua to Taumarere rail corridor, while council engineers were working with the trust and Te Keteriki — a company formed to oversee a range of local tourism projects — to identify the best route for the new trail.
The council had allocated $13.2 million to the project.
Meanwhile, the council would also continue building a temporary cycle trail connecting Ōpua and Kawakawa.
That route, via Oromāhoe Rd and Whangae Rd, would be suited to experienced riders rather than beginners or families.
However, Clamp believed the alternative route would provide some relief for cycle trail businesses struggling to recover from Covid-19 restrictions and the part-closure of a section of the Twin Coast Cycle Trail.
The opening date for the alternative route is not yet known.
The budget for that project is believed to be about $1.5m.
