Report on recreation in Waimakariri basin

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32975, 22 July 1972, Page 13

Report on recreation in Waimakariri basin

An illustrated, 140-page report on the present and possible future recreation uses of the Waimakariri basin has recently been released. The report, by Messrs J. A. Hayward and F. D. Boffa, of Lincoln College, has been published for the Tussock Grasslands and Mountain Lands Institute, with financial assistance from the New Zealand Environmental Council.

It is an introductory study of environmental planning for the area, and its findings are indicative rather than definitive. But one point revealed by the report is that active recreation, such as climbing and skiing, in the basin — which includes Arthurs Pass National Park —is a minority use. The greatest uses are driving and sightseeing. The growth of recreational use in the basin is indicated

by the increased use of the national park, the report says, where, since 1962, the number of visitors has doubled each four years. “In spite of such dramatic growth, it appears that with careful management the basin can continue to provide opportunity for the foreseeable future. The factor most likely to ?mit future recreational use is a lack of accommodation,” the report I says. However, facilities can be developed in several regions, Ithe report says, the Broken IRiver area being best suited. As a second choice for development, little separates ithe Lyndon, Pearson, Grasimere, and Broad Stream I areas.

In the preface to the study, Professor K. F. O’Connor, director of the institute, says that a focus of public interest on recreation in the basin has been provided by a com-

mercial proposal for a recreational village at Castle Hill, and that the focus has been sharpened by the conflict of interest in that area between conservation in a strict sense and recreational development.