Maratoto temporary closure from 8 Jan 2012

[DieselBoy]

That would be Ces Horan

[vinceparts]

That would be Ces Horan

thats the guy with the money box attatched to his fence .. correct..?

well that dudes a GC any way haha

[mudlva]

That would be Ces Horan

thats the guy with the money box attatched to his fence .. correct..?

well that dudes a GC any way haha

no that is another chap

Ces lives further down the road

[Stage1V8]

Peter, as ever you are too humble: "a life member" you say. Perhaps the ONLY life member of NZFWDA might be more appropriate.

If you have not met PV, he is on this video, at 3:30.



Alan

[mudlva]

hi all
we went up maratoto and have taken a heap of photos to show an idea of the work required to get the track to a drivable state again

i will start a new thread in the next day or two as i try to bring a few "seniors" in and talk to potential digger opperators etc.

there will need to be a good team effort required to get the work accomplished so we can get beck and use the track again

looking forward to meet all the volinteers

cheers Rohan

[PeterVahry]

Rohan, just a hint... any digger work on DOC land can only be done by DOC approved operators. There are not many because of the paperwork etc.

Did you walk or bike up to check the areas?

[PeterVahry]

An update... plans are in place for digger work at Maratoto starting 2 March if the weather is suitable. The NZFWDA are covering the machine hire costs.

The trail will stay locked during the work period to comply with DoC requirements.

The next phase will be to 'harden' certain areas with stone/rock and help will be needed with that.

[coxsy]

moving a vast amount of stone up there will be interesting

[PeterVahry]

We've moved quite a few tons over the years to harden various areas. The easy way is to use sacks filled with rocks to a manageable weight and then loading several bags into as many 4x4's as possible. Plastic sacks can be used to transport rocks but not left on the trail. Hessian sacks can be dumped and left to hold the rocks together. The hessian fibres grab soil particles and bind quite quickly and then biodegrade over time.

We've usually loaded up at the Wires Rd ford from the diggings out of the river. Lumps of rock, rather than gravel, are what work best. Once up at the Tairua River, rock can be gathered from that area, bagged and brought back to harden places in that region.

[PeterVahry]

Damn weather! We have cancelled the digger work in the meantime as there has been 40mm of rain today at Maratoto and more forecast into the weekend.

It makes it too dangerous to get the machine up the track.

[PeterVahry]

Despite the recent run of fine weather, things have conspired against achieving the needed maintenance with either the digger or people not being available. If things go to plan, it is hoped to try again the weekend after Easter.

[PeterVahry]

A digger is scheduled to go into Maratoto on Friday 20 April for a week. It will be heading for the area past the Loop gate to repair that top section.

A plan is being considered to also hold a working bee to cut back vegetation and transport bags of stones close to the digger's work area.

If there's interest in helping, make a post here and we'll see if it's worthwhile organising.

Thanks.

[TJ]

Do you have a firm date in mind for the working bee?

[PeterVahry]

How about Sunday 22?

[PeterVahry]

Digger work on Maratoto is progressing well with the fine weather, but conditions are still reported as being soft in the area beyond the Loop gate on the main trail. With that in mind, it is unlikely that the gate will re-open for the public until Spring.

Some 'working bee' days are likely to be organised so watch for postings.