We thought it timely to provide an update on progress and changes to the wind throw harvesting operations in Wairakei forest. The team at New Zealand Forest Managers have been doing a fantastic job clearing the trees so that we can ride our trails again. For your reference I have attached a copy of a map  showing the harvesting locations.

Progress

1.  Area 1  ( ‘Corkscrew') is largely complete, except for the felling of eucalypt trees along Powerline Rd. It is our expectation that this will be completed by Monday 25 June after which time the area will be open again to Taupo Horse Treks, and the public. The loading of numerous trucks will continue periodically until mid-July, and after that there will be the occasional truck. Forest users will be required to comply with all instructions given by operators during truck loading and transport operations. In the event there are occurrences of non-compliance that represent safety risks the areas will be closed again to public access until all wood is loaded out.
2.  Area 4 was done ‘out of schedule’ along with operations in Area 2, largely to allow us to complete all operations south of Craters Rd in as timely manner as possible. Accordingly, area 4 will be open to public access again once the Powerline Rd harvest is completed.
3.  Area 2 ( Tourist Trap) is expected to be completed by Monday 25 June. As is the case with Area 1 public access will remain restricted until the eucalypt felling on Powerline Rd is complete.

Further Operations

• The harvest of the areas behind Helistar and Rapid Sensations will commence 21 June. Please respect the access restrictions that will be imposed around those operations.
• Those operations will involve work adjacent to Loop Rd, so there will also be traffic movement restrictions in place at times.
• Harvest of Area 3 ( Tankstand ) will commence in early July which will see access restrictions on Karapiti Rd. When felling is occurring adjacent to Craters Rd there will be traffic management restrictions in place that will cause some disruption to access and vehicle traffic at times. We will work with Craters Trust to minimise impacts on public access where possible. That operation is expected to continue till around late September.

Track Building

Once the areas are clear, the track building team will be able to start to rebuild those trails lost due to the windfall (Tourist Trap, Ferret, Cork Screw, Buddha, Squirt, Tank Stand, Coaster and Walters Wiggles). The idea is to take advantage of the disruption and improve these tracks where possible. We are always keen to hear any ideas that you may have on this, so feel free to make a comment on our face book page or email the track crew.

All other areas (Incline, Grinder, Debs Track, Buzzard, Son of Buzzard, Coles Killer, Mr, Mrs, Young Pines, Better Than P, Outback, Luge, Retro) will remain open and very very rideable.

 If you have any queries on the harvesting operations in Craters, please drop us a line at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.