logo
'Great Rides' need double the money to keep running smoothly

'Great Rides' need double the money to keep running smoothly

RNZ News21-07-2025
The country's Great Rides attract about a million cyclists and walkers each year. File photo.
Photo:
RNZ / Chris Bramwell
Maintenance funding for the country's 'Great Rides' trails will need to double in the next decade, or some will degrade so much they will lose that status.
The trails generate just under $1b annually in benefits to regional economies, drawing about a million cyclists and walkers each year.
The government puts $8m a year towards the trails through the International Visitor and Conservation Levy, with contributions totalling $129m since 2009. Councils have co-invested at least $60m into the rides in that time.
But an Official Information Act response from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, released to RNZ, shows an estimated $160 million will be needed to maintain and enhance the Great Rides over the next 10 years.
Per year, it is double the amount currently allocated for the network.
"Without additional funding, there is a risk the Great Rides will gradually decline over time, potentially resulting in the removal of Great Ride status from some underperforming trails," the briefing to Tourism Minister Louise Upston says.
NZ Cycle Journeys runs cycle hire and luggage transfer services across five of the trails and owner Geoff Gabites told
Nine to Noon
the trails were "perfectly usable" at the moment, but would need resurfacing soon - the maintenance largely done by local councils, with three trails covered by the Department of Conservation (DOC).
He compared that to the 'Great Walks' tramping tracks fully managed by DOC - which owns and manages the huts, thereby collecting an income stream.
"On the [Great Rides] trails, there is no mechanism whereby riders themselves can be levied or generate money for the trusts or councils that own the trails," Gabites said.
When set up in 2009 under the John Key government, the Great Rides were intended to eventually become self-funding, but the OIA response showed this "has not eventuated as the economic benefits have not flowed back to the trails to allow them to maintain and grow to be a world-class asset".
There are no direct revenue-gathering options for the trusts that operate the trails.
The problem is exacerbated by trails that have been impacted by severe weather, like the Great Taste Trail in Nelson which will
need rebuilding following the recent Tasman floods
.
"It's that sort of siphoning of money out of the $8m which the government currently fund per annum which is I think causing a significant decline in the ongoing funding available for maintenance," Gabites said.
He said given the benefits, it should be on the government to support the maintenance of the trails.
"It's hard to actually find a government initiative that has delivered that sort of degree of return, and so you would have to be saying to the government 'this is your investment, and it's really going to be upon you, I believe, to maintain and protect that investment'."
They were considerably cheaper than urban-based cycleways to maintain, he said.
"In terms of numbers, 48 percent of the riders travel specifically to ride these trails so they're not just 'happen to be there and then go and and do something', it's actually a driver into the region... the $8m that have been granted is the same degree of funding that was in place from, I think, 2018."
The government has launched a "programme refresh to respond to this funding pressure", and also has a "full impact evaluation" for the 2024/25 fiscal year under way, scheduled for completion in September.
Gabites said tourism operators benefiting from the trail where also were aware they should contribute, and that was being done on a voluntary basis - but it was currently the only way those operators were helping fund the trails.
"So Cycle Journeys has had a luggage levy of 15 percent in there, and we've donated something like $126,000 over the last four years - but when the trail maintenance numbers are as high as they are, that's not sufficient to stay ahead of the game."
Part of the problem was the lack of any way to charge the users of the trails, and the government's contracts with councils - many of which had a low rating base - left ratepayers to fund the maintenance.
"There's multiple entry/exit points, so it's it's just never been set up to do this - and also legislatively as well, there's no mechanism," Gabites said.
The MBIE briefing notes the government is exploring differential funding from councils "based on a local government deprivation index similar to that used by the New Zealand Transport Agency to fund roads".
James Bell from ski and bike hireage company TCB Ohakune is heavily involved in the town's business community and said everyone including DOC and iwi seemed to be "pitching in where they can and where is necessary", but the trails themselves needed to be completed to make the whole system run smoother.
"The biggest challenge right now - and this might sound a bit harsh - is we're currently driving a three-wheeled cart, because that cart isn't complete and therefore working on maintaining a three-wheeled cart is a lot tougher. Makes more sense, at least, for our community, to add that fourth wheel."
As an example, many of the trails have been at least partly on-road since the scheme was launched, and the MBIE briefing notes that a $7.9m bid to have 120km of the Alps 2 Ocean ride shifted to off-road was rejected.
Bell said there were also other ways to get the maintenance done, like new levies or commissions or through concession agreements.
Minister Upston in a statement to RNZ said she was aware of the maintenance issues and cost pressures.
"An ongoing challenge is how to generate revenue to reinvest into the trails to ensure they continue to offer a world-class experience. MBIE is currently working with sector partners to refresh the broader Great Rides programme. I'm committed to finding solutions to ensure the future of the Great Rides for Kiwis and international visitors alike," she said.
The government has also confirmed plans to
spend $3m on adding e-bike charging stations
to the trails, with a second round of funding launched in June - however the MBIE briefing noted there was a "low level of support for installing e-charging stations" from stakeholders.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero
,
a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Great Walks with kids: A family's adventure through NZ's trails
Great Walks with kids: A family's adventure through NZ's trails

NZ Herald

time2 hours ago

  • NZ Herald

Great Walks with kids: A family's adventure through NZ's trails

For quality, screen-free family time, a Great Walk really delivers. You are largely off-grid and out in nature together, with several hours of walking – and potential talking time – each day. Our kids usually take turns leading and dropping back to chat with their packhorse parents. Once at the huts, it's more family bonding as you unwind from the day, share some treats and cook dinner. It's all very Brady Bunch until it inevitably isn't; for example, when someone knocks over his Milo and completely soaks his only spare set of clothes. The Kepler Track in Fiordland. Photo / Tourism NZ It's easy to get blasé about New Zealand's natural beauty and dramatic landscapes. The Great Walks will jolt you out of any such complacency. Even the kids, usually indifferent to calendar-worthy views, found plenty to delight in. Walking through the otherworldly and iron-flat South Crater on the Tongariro Circuit, surrounded by craggy, volcanic terrain and the famous cone of Ngauruhoe, was a surreal and awe-inspiring experience. To my imaginative 10-year-old, we were in dragon country. The Heaphy Hut was another highlight, overlooking the point where the Heaphy River meets the roiling Tasman Sea. As we soaked in the scene, fringed by nikau palms and resplendent in the sunset, the kids revelled on the river bank, hunting for treasures and dipping in and out of the cool, clean river current. Start small to build confidence As with any holiday with kids, adequate preparation is important. Having ticked off a few day walks in our home region of Hawke's Bay, we had already established that the kids were very capable, if not always enthusiastic, walkers. We thoroughly researched each walk before booking (the Department of Conservation has extensive information on its website – including track descriptions, potential hazards, gear lists and difficulty ratings for each walk. For pre-walk training, we put our half-full packs on and headed up our local mountain, Te Mata Peak, tramping similar distances, time-frames and elevations as we'd face on our upcoming walk. And yes, we did get some odd looks. Te Mata Peak offers a good opportunity as a trial walk. Photo / Kirsten Simcox Embrace early starts and bush toilets When on the tracks, we usually set off early – giving plenty of time to complete the day's distance. Often, there are natural stops along the way – other huts and shelters, lookouts, points of interest – and breaking the day up into chunks is a great way to keep kids motivated. You'll also be stopping when nature calls, and I'm not talking about birdsong. Realistically, and despite your repeated pleas to use available facilities, you may be dealing with an urgent bowel motion on the most remote part of the track. In this situation, you'll need a compostable bag, or a trowel and a spot well away from the track, campsites and any water. Chalk it up as a new experience for young and old. Abel Tasman National Park. Photo / Tourism NZ Lean into a little make-believe Keeping morale up on a long day of walking required a mix of games and deep-dive conversations into our children's latest interests. On the Abel Tasman, we were hard into the Harry Potter phase and every third stick we encountered was assessed for its spell-casting potential. There's a limit, of course, to how many of the 1000-plus Pokemon characters you can bear to hear about, or how much I Spy you can play in the bush. This is where outright bribes in the form of cold, hard candy come in. They work on adults too. Plan post-hiking fun Arriving at the hut after a day of walking can be a religious experience. Don't get too comfortable though, as your kids will inexplicably still have energy to burn. Once you've bagged your bunks (fellow trampers are usually very reasonable about letting families bunk in the same room), be prepared to go exploring around the huts – there is often a postcard-perfect waterfall, swimming hole or vista just a short walk away. Back at the hut, it's time to break out the snacks and diversions. Some huts have a collection of puzzles, cards and games, but it's a good idea to take your own too. The Great Walks challenge began on the Abel Tasman Coast Track. Photo / Claire Rogers Keep mealtimes simple For meals, we kept it simple. Breakfasts (porridge mix) and dinners (a freeze-dried meal) were as easy as adding boiling water to the sachets, stirring the mix and letting them sit. Lunches and snacks were salami and bier sticks, wraps, energy bars, lollies, crackers and cheese. While the thought of a freeze-dried roast chicken meal – complete with mash and stuffing – may not have you salivating, our kids gave it rave reviews. Enjoy the break from the nightly battle over fresh veggies. Make friends along the way Stepping out on day one of the Abel Tasman track, we were a tad nervous as to how our fellow hut dwellers would receive our outgoing brood, who were 6, 8 and 9 at the time. We needn't have worried. The camaraderie in the huts is one of the best things about the Great Walks, and most of our walking companions have been delighted to see children tackling the tracks with them. We loved reuniting with our newfound friends each night, sharing stories from the day. One tramper went so far as to organise an epic 'backyard' cricket match for our would-be Black Caps, constructing a bat out of driftwood and converting an avocado stone into a ball with strapping tape. On the wall in our home office, there's a Great Walk map. The kids love to look at the distances and climbs they've conquered, the huts they've lodged in, and remember the people we met along the way. When you sign up for a Great Walk with kids, you are signing up for a challenge. But the family memories made, the soul-nourishing scenery, and the immense and collective sense of achievement each time have us coming back for more.

Study finds whānau businesses offer path to economic success for Māori
Study finds whānau businesses offer path to economic success for Māori

RNZ News

time3 hours ago

  • RNZ News

Study finds whānau businesses offer path to economic success for Māori

Professor of Māori Business Management at the University of Auckland Jason Mika. Photo: Supplied/William Chea/University of Auckland A new study has found that whānau-led businesses could be one of the most immediate ways to improve livelihoods within Māori communities. Published in the book Te Ahunga atu ki ngā Ōhanga Oranga Māori: Towards Māori Economies of Wellbeing , the study on whānau enterprise is co-authored by Professor Jason Mika and PhD candidate Xiaoliang Niu of He Manga Tauhokohoko, University of Auckland's Business School. Mika said for the purposes of the study a Māori-led business is a business that was owned and operated by Māori for the benefit of whānau, hapū or community. "These are the businesses that are formed by Mum and Dad teams, but actually end up roping in the extended whānau as either co-owners or employees." Mika (Tūhoe, Whakatōhea, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa) said what distinguishes these from other Māori-led businesses such as iwi authorities and large pan-tribal entities such as Sealord is first scale, they tend to be small- to medium-sized, and second they tend to be formed around using business to serve the needs of the whānau. These whānau enterprises offer a promising path towards economic success for Māori, he said. "One of the most immediate ways to improve livelihoods and wellbeing for whānau is what the whānau can do for themselves, through enterprise." The Māori Economies of Wellbeing research draws on case studies, interviews, and long-term engagement with Māori-led businesses. The investigation found that whānau enterprises demonstrate: One case study was Whangārei based company North Drill, whose work includes utility instillation, renewable energy instillation and drainage. But Mika said their mission was intergenerational wealth and wellbeing for their whānau and that extends to te Tai Tokerau in general. It also reinvested profits into collective goals like housing, education, and leadership development. "What they're really concerned about is providing opportunities particularly for rangatahi... you know school is not where they want to be or they've got abilities, they've got good values, they've got good ethics but are just looking for an opportunity," he said. Mika said North Drill was providing more than just employment to rangatahi but also education on financial literacy. "And in that way they are really concerned about how do they give back to their community." Mika said the goal was that young Māori could see a pathway in business once they left school, a path that ended not just with a job but with business ownership. He is calling for investors to recognise the potential of whānau businesses and said there were various organisations which were currently working to raise the investor profile of whānau businesses, so investors knew what they were looking at and what the opportunities were. "I think there's still a bit of a disconnect, I think the access to capital problem for whānau enterprise and Māori enterprise in general is still a challenge to be solved." Mika said whānau businesses had a point of difference, they could draw on mātauranga and Māori values to do business in a different manner. "One of the major things that sets the whānau enterprise apart is our identity as Māori, our values, our reo, our tikanga, kaupapa, mātauranga Māori. All of those are assets, they are cultural assets which whānau have available to them." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store