Scenic Otago walkway restored to former glory

Restoration work has been completed on a scenic walkway alongside Otago's Purakaunui Inlet to ensure the area remains accessible for future generations.

The Purakaunui Inlet Track project was led by the Purakanui Amenities Society Incorporated, which received $12,875 in funding assistance through the New Zealand Walking Access Commission's contestable Enhanced Access Fund.

Purakanui Amenities Society Incorporated President Jude Newton said the project included widening the track, improving drainage and creating a rock wall on a vulnerable and narrow section to prevent further erosion.

Newton explained "the track offers great views of the inlet and is a great place for people to get out and enjoy the outdoors, but restoration work was badly needed to ensure continued access. Parts of the track had slumped into the inlet and it had narrowed considerably. If it wasn't for this work, the track would soon have been too difficult to walk."

New Zealand Walking Access Commission Chief Executive Mark Neeson said the project won funding through the 2011 round of the Commission's Enhanced Access Fund, adding "the Purakaunui Inlet Track is regularly used by school groups and recreational users who want to get out into the outdoors or access the inlet for water activities. Supporting projects like this that protect and enhance access to the outdoors is what the Enhanced Access Fund is all about."

30 projects around New Zealand have been awarded funding through the Enhanced Access Fund since its first funding round in 2010.

Among those that have been completed are the Pahi Peninsula Walkway in Northland, the Lake Hill Track near Canterbury's Lake Coleridge and Dalton's Track near the Pelorus Bridge in Marlborough.

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