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27:
309:, today used for electricity generation. The route utilises a historic pack track in the Kawhaka Valley, and Kawhaka Pass at 317 metres (1,040 ft) is the highest point of the trail. From the pass, it is a further 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) to the replica western town that has been named Cowboy Paradise by its owner. The 37 kilometres (23 mi) section is grade 2+.
264:
The trail can be ridden in three or four days, but the standard route description is for four sections. The trail is mostly ridden from north to south. On the New
Zealand Cycling Trail website, slightly over three-quarters of the trail are shown as grade 2 (easy), with the remainder as grade 3
293:, due to open later in 2015, and as an interim measure, rubber safety mats have been installed that seal the groove between the rail tracks. From there, the track goes inland towards Kumara, following an old tram line. The 30 kilometres (19 mi) section is grade 1.
434:
included the West Coast as one of the world's top 10 regions for tourists to visit in the following year. When the trail was opened soon after, international media picked up on this and included the West Coast
Wilderness Trail in its reporting.
381:
in the south. Annual maintenance budgets of NZ$ 30k and NZ$ 70k have been set by Grey and
Westland Districts, respectively. One of the overall objectives of the New Zealand Cycle Trail project is "breathing new life into dying towns".
321:. Kennett writes that the "downhill is so sweet you might feel like riding back up to repeat the experience!" The Arahura Valley is left via a "toughish" 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) climb, and this is followed by a descent towards
252:'s Theatre Royal Hotel, on the first anniversary of the reopening of the historic hotel. There have been delays with the last section to Ross, and as of August 2015, the target opening date for this remaining section is
353:. The side trip to the treetop walk is part of the official track route. South of here, the route will follow the old railway line to Ross, including the picturesque 200 metres (660 ft) rail bridge over the
385:
As of 2015, there are about 8,000 annual track users. Westland
District expects 10,000 users in 2016, and 15,000 annual users within a few years. The West Coast is facing hard economic times, with the
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I think this beast, this cycle way, is exceeding anybody's expectations of what it possibly could have done. Which is a good thing for the community and a good thing for the businesses along the way.
341:
The trail leaves
Hokitika on the Hokitika River Bridge clip on towards the south. From here, much of the trail has yet to be built, and in some sections, cyclists have to use narrow shoulders on
408:. Initially built for corporate functions and adventure events like pistol shooting, their market is changing quickly towards cycle tourism. The owner, beef farmer Mike Milne, said in 2015:
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345:, which results in the current grade 4 rating (advanced). The trail, once built, will use an old tramline and go within 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) of the
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having taken its toll by not just having lost many lives, but also the closure of that mine. World coal prices are declining, and state coal miner
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representing the Greens. The first section of the trail, from
Greymouth to Hokitika, was officially opened by Key and Hague on 23 November 2013 at
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401:'s Theatre Royal Hotel from 1876, which changed owners in 2010 and has been fully restored in anticipation of trade from the cycle trail.
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The official opening of the cycle trail coincided with other events that put international attention to the West Coast. First,
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8.6 million, which has been shared between the government's cycle trail fund (part of the government's tourism budget) and
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in August 2015. Many hotels and pubs on the coast are struggling, and some have recently been closed. An exception is the
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stopbank in
Greymouth next to the historic railway signal box. The track then follows the coast up to the
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333:. The 36 kilometres (22 mi) section is grade 3- due to the steep climb out of the Arahura Valley.
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265:(intermediate). The detailed description below uses the grading used by Jonathan Kennett.
373:. Future maintenance costs are the responsibility of the two district councils involved,
40:
Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.
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The New
Zealand Cycle Trails, Nga Haerenga: A guide to New Zealand's 23 Great Rides
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From Cowboy
Paradise, there is 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) downhill towards the
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The overall New
Zealand Cycle Trail project is a joint initiate between the
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Another staging point for the cycle trail is Cowboy Paradise inland from
325:. From there, a mixture of trail and road use leads to the settlement of
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208:. Once complete, the 139 kilometres (86 mi) track will connect
831:"The Luminaries shines a light on New Zealand's wild West Coast"
881:
285:, which is the last remaining combined road-rail bridge in the
256:
in 2015 (the Monday of Labour weekend falls onto 26 October).
71:
The West Coast Wilderness Trail shortly before Cowboy Paradise
20:
803:"Cycling in New Zealand: the Timber Trail, and other routes"
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617:
615:
305:. It goes past water races built during the time of the
668:"Taramakau bridge to be re-sealed for cyclists' safety"
281:. There, trail users are currently required to use the
329:. Hokitika is reached via an old tramline next to the
289:. A clip on is under construction by civil contractor
176:
Taramakau River Bridge (prior to clip on construction)
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301:From Kumara, the track gently ascends towards the
204:has been funded as one of the projects of the
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543:"West Coasters cut trails for cycle tourists"
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1119:Tourist attractions in the West Coast Region
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900:
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273:The official start of the track is on the
637:"Taramakau Bridge cycle clip-on contract"
482:"West Coast Wilderness cycle trail opens"
480:O'Connor, Sarah-Jane (22 November 2013).
744:O'Connor, Sarah-Jane (29 August 2015).
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541:O'Connor, Sarah-Jane (29 August 2015).
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16:New Zealand cycling and tramping trail
7:
773:Harvey, Eveline (8 November 2013).
14:
718:"Blaze a trail on our West Coast"
991:Around the Mountains Cycle Trail
829:Marks, Chris (30 October 2013).
801:Tisdall, Nigel (10 April 2014).
775:"Lonely Planet hails West Coast"
65:
25:
1124:Sport in the West Coast Region
174:some roads shared with traffic
1:
453:"West Coast Wilderness Trail"
746:"Dark clouds for Coast pubs"
1036:West Coast Wilderness Trail
716:Kenny, Katie (3 May 2015).
509:"Labour Day in New Zealand"
365:The cost of the project is
313:Cowboy Paradise to Hokitika
234:memorandum of understanding
202:West Coast Wilderness Trail
186:West Coast Wilderness Trail
60:West Coast Wilderness Trail
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859:Kennett, Jonathan (2014).
986:Alps to Ocean Cycle Trail
297:Kumara to Cowboy Paradise
236:. The joint sponsors are
64:
34:This article needs to be
1056:Otago Central Rail Trail
395:voluntary administration
387:Pike River Mine disaster
80:139 km (86 mi)
1114:New Zealand Cycle Trail
909:New Zealand Cycle Trail
587:New Zealand Cycle Trail
457:New Zealand Cycle Trail
347:West Coast Treetop Walk
206:New Zealand Cycle Trail
192:New Zealand Cycle Trail
163:West Coast Treetop Walk
89:West Coast, New Zealand
965:Twin Coast Cycle Trail
780:The New Zealand Herald
414:
371:Development West Coast
283:Taramakau River Bridge
1061:Queen Charlotte Track
428:2013 Man Booker Prize
410:
1021:St James Cycle Trail
1016:Roxburgh Gorge Trail
970:Waikato River Trails
835:The National Student
343:State Highway 6
307:West Coast gold rush
149:West Coast gold rush
132:Easy to intermediate
1086: /
808:The Daily Telegraph
641:NZ Transport Agency
609:, pp. 202–205.
269:Greymouth to Kumara
242:Minister of Tourism
240:in his function as
226:National Government
1090:42.448°S 171.215°E
1011:Lake Dunstan Trail
1001:Dun Mountain Trail
940:Hawke's Bay Trails
935:Hauraki Rail Trail
212:in the north with
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1006:Great Taste Trail
996:Clutha Gold Trail
870:978-1-77553-708-3
639:(Press release).
511:. Timeanddate.com
379:Westland District
377:in the north and
260:Route description
232:, based on their
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1095:-42.448; 171.215
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1031:Queenstown Trail
950:Mountains to Sea
930:Great Lake Trail
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754:. pp. C1–C2
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647:. 26 August 2015
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666:Mills, Laura.
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423:The Luminaries
418:Eleanor Catton
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351:Lake Mahinapua
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331:Hokitika River
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393:was put into
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375:Grey District
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319:Arahura River
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121:Highest point
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979:South Island
960:Timber Trail
923:North Island
860:
840:20 September
838:. Retrieved
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814:20 September
812:. Retrieved
806:
796:
786:20 September
784:. Retrieved
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758:19 September
756:. Retrieved
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729:20 September
727:. Retrieved
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704:Kennett 2014
699:
692:Kennett 2014
687:
677:20 September
675:. Retrieved
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651:20 September
649:. Retrieved
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624:Kennett 2014
607:Kennett 2014
602:
592:19 September
590:. Retrieved
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570:Kennett 2014
565:
555:19 September
553:. Retrieved
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515:19 September
513:. Retrieved
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493:19 September
491:. Retrieved
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462:18 September
460:. Retrieved
447:
421:
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411:
406:Lake Kaniere
403:
391:Solid Energy
384:
364:
355:Totara River
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323:Lake Kaniere
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291:Fulton Hogan
287:South Island
272:
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201:
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35:
18:
1093: /
1081:171°12′54″E
945:Motu Trails
246:Kevin Hague
230:Green Party
1108:Categories
1078:42°26′53″S
916:New trails
853:References
583:"Overview"
275:Grey River
154:Rainforest
140:Year round
129:Difficulty
96:Trailheads
751:The Press
548:The Press
487:The Press
210:Greymouth
157:historic
101:Greymouth
430:. Then,
420:'s book
238:John Key
228:and the
159:Hokitika
85:Location
46:May 2024
327:Kaniere
220:History
181:Website
170:Hazards
116:Cycling
114:Walking
36:updated
867:
399:Kumara
250:Kumara
244:, and
151:relics
145:Sights
137:Season
77:Length
723:Stuff
439:Notes
349:near
124:319 m
865:ISBN
842:2015
816:2015
788:2015
760:2015
731:2015
679:2015
653:2015
594:2015
557:2015
517:2015
495:2015
464:2015
367:NZ$
214:Ross
200:The
105:Ross
111:Use
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
