Over 70 people attend launch of Trust

Posted on 8 November 2020

The Taranaki Trails Trust, Ara Hononga o Taranaki, was launched on Monday 2 November, at Shining Peak Brewery in New Plymouth. The event was attended by over 70 people, including the Mayors of New Plymouth and Stratford and Deputy Mayor of South Taranaki. The new website to showcase Taranaki as an emerging mountain biking trails destination was also launched.

The Taranaki Trails Trust has been formed by a group of passionate community people who want to connect Taranaki through trails and make the region a world class trails destination.

Chair, Darryl Gaudin says, “The purpose of the Trust is to develop and support inspiring cycling and walking trails that create deep connections to the mana of our Taranaki Maunga, our region and our people. All over New Zealand, great rides and trails have been set-up. With this Trust, we’re going to put Taranaki on the map.”

The new website, www.taranakitrails.nz has been developed to showcase the trails that already exist in Taranaki. Trustee Charlotte Littlewood says, “We’ve got some great adventures in Taranaki – from our iconic coastal walkway, to the extensive mountain bike park at Lake Mangamahoe. We want to showcase that to the rest of New Zealand and the world. We also recognise how much our tourism and hospitality industry has been hurting due to Coivd-19, and want to do what we can to help attract more visitors to Taranaki”.  

The Trust’s flagship project is to create New Zealand’s next great ride. Trustee Stacey Hitchcock says, “Rides like the Otago Rail Trail and Timber Trail have transformed the smaller rural communities around them.  We’ve got the beautiful Te Papakura o Taranaki (Egmont National Park) on our doorstep, and inspirational stories of our people and history to share. There’s so much potential to create something unique and special here”.