A proposed walkway 40 years in the making is one step closer to reality after being granted consent.
However, more funding is needed to bring the Lake Ōkāreka lakeside walkway to fruition and the local community association hopes the Government may come to the party.
The Lake Ōkāreka Community Associationhas been granted approval to complete a 40-year-old plan for a walkway around the entire lake.
The planned 3.8km track will bridge two existing walkways and create a path more than 10km long from Boyes Beach to Acacia Rd, including a bridge across the lake outlet.
Rotorua resident Jo Faulkner is a regular visitor to the Ōkāreka boardwalk.
"We come out here at least two or three times a month. My husband kayaks from the boat ramp and I will walk and we'll have a picnic," Faulkner told the Rotorua Daily Post.
"It's such an amazing place. I think it's very underused. But it's a real drawcard."
Faulkner said she often brought visitors to the walkway, including international students who have stayed with her.
"They're just amazed that this is here. Even people living in Rotorua didn't know this walk was here.
"With the birds and the water and how clean it is, it's a lovely place."
Rotorua local Jo Faulkner strolls along the Lake Ōkāreka Boardwalk at least three times a month. Photo / Andrew Warner
Richard Caughley spokesman for the Playne family, who donated considerable lake frontage for the existing Ōkāreka boardwalk, said the completed walkway would be an amazing opportunity for tourism.
"I think [the walkway] is fantastic the way it is but if you want to go on a walk it's nice to go around."
Caughley said landowner Nathaniel Playne had changed farm boundaries more than 35 years ago so that a future walkway could be instated for all to enjoy.
"He was an environmentalist before it became popular. He loved the bush and he loved the lake."
A new walkway could mean visitors will be able to walk the whole way around Lake Ōkāreka. Photo / NZME
Lake Ōkāreka Community Association secretary Mitch Collins said the track had been a long-term vision.
"The project has certainly evolved over time," Collins said.
Now that the track had access permissions, Collins hoped the project would be a prime candidate for shovel-ready funding.
Collins said once the shovels hit the ground, it wouldn't be long before the walkway was finished.
"It could take two to four months to build the walkway. It could be done in a summer."
Collins did not want to say how much the new walkway could cost as the association was still in negotiation with contractors.
"We've had a few quotes."
Collins said the project would employ four to five people and be funded primarily by revenue from the Lake Ōkāreka campsite and some fundraising.
"We need to make sure we have the capital to build the track and maintain it."
Existing tracks at Lake Ōkāreka begin at Boyes Beach (above) and Acacia Rd, the new walkway will join these together. Photo / NZME
Once completed Collins hoped the track could offer visitors the "next step up" from popular Lake Tikitapu/Blue Lake's family-friendly loop track.
Collins said the association would continue to work together with the Department of Conservation and local iwi to complete the walkway.
Tūhorangi Tribal Authority spokesman Ngarepo Epairama said iwi had been included in contributing to the project's cultural impact report.
"Tūhourangi Tribal Authority are extremely supportive of the walking track project and as mana whenua in the area we have been kept in the loop the whole time."
Department of Conservation Rotorua operations manager Zane Jensen said she looked forward to engaging in the final planning stages of the new track.
"[Lake Ōkāreka Community Association] have invested a lot of volunteer management into [the walkway]."
A community information day for anyone interested in the walkway's development will be held before Christmas. The dates and location of the event will depend on Covid-19 restrictions.
