National Horse Treking Trail for NZ ?

Posted 3rd of February 2016 to the Christchurch Press Newspaper Canterbury NZ

The Question:  Is there any reason why the Te Aroa National Trail the runs the Length of NZ should not be upgraded to take Horse Trekkers ?
Horse Travel was the Traditional Form of Travel in NZ in our Early Days, should we not factor that into our National Trail System
They might need better Bridges than Mountain Bikes but horses need less expensive trails to walk on... And they flatten the weeds way better than boots or Bikes!
There are less and less places for Trekkers to Ride every day.. I recon it would be good to give them shared National Trail..

 

Cycle the Te Aroa Trail ? Te Anau NZ

Posted 3rd February 2016 to the Southland Times Newspaper Invercargill

It should say something about Roger Hodgkinson’s  Front Page Cycle Trail Proposal  of Jan 25th to make the Round the Mountain Trail a More Southland Friendly Option.
There is no doubt that Te Anau is Southland’s Tourism Hub and it seems bizarre that it was not included in the current discussion on the National Trail Network.
I think that if Roger’s Trail Spur Idea can not be taken seriously by the Southland District than is might be an Idea to use it as a Riding and Hiking Trail as there are increasingly fewer opportunities for Horse Trekking in the Area.
Come to think of it the Te Aroa Trail that runs down the Nation’s spine and the Mararoa River Catchment could be converted to Riding and Hiking  perhaps with a spur trail  over the Takatimu Mountains.
Trying to keep a Cycle trail up to International Standards with Horse Traffic is very problematic but is not a big issue on a walkway. Especially the Te Aroa Section down the Mararoa which is said to be quite overgrown.