By ANNE BESTON
From the spectacular lakes and mountains of the South Island to the outskirts of North Shore City, another link in the chain of a national walkway was officially opened yesterday.
Former champion marathon runner Allison Roe opened the 23km coastal track. It forms part of the Te Araroa walkway
being built to stretch the length of the country by 2008.
The North Shore stretch, from Long Bay in the north to Devonport in the south, would take around six hours at average pace.
Trust spokesman Geoff Chapple said it was likely to be one of the most popular in the country: "People who live here already use parts of the trail enormously.
"But if you are interested in distance walking, you can now walk right to the edge of North Shore City and you don't have to get wet feet."
The Te Araroa Trust had worked closely with North Shore City Council on constructing parts of the walkway, which had markers and logos to point people in the right direction.
The trust now had access to tracks that covered around half the North Island, he said.
It was ready to open a 58km walk between Twizel in the South Island Mackenzie Country and Lake Tekapo.
