The wonder trail on our doorstep

KELLY HODEL/Waikato Times

WAIKATO WALK: Ali Van der Heyden climbs the track up the Ongaroto Bluffs beside Lake Whakamaru.

Relevant offers

Waikato focus

Sink or swim? A ride to remember The grand sham Steering in the right direction Flights of fancy Town where the people come first Our slumbering giant The wonder trail on our doorstep My life with the gangs Elliott's downfall

An ambitious plan to turn the Waikato River banks into one of the world's best river trails has taken a big step forward with Government funding to complete the 100km section from Atiamuri to Karapiro. Tracey Cooper checks progress on the Waikato River Trails.

magine a week away. Five days or so, either walking or riding a mountainbike, following the trails that run alongside the Waikato River, all the way from the calm waters of Lake Taupo to the breakers at Port Waikato.

Each day would begin with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and a leisurely breakfast at a well-kept and friendly lodge, discussing the route ahead with a mix of Germans, Australians, English, Japanese and fellow Kiwi trailblazers.

Then you'd have a few hours walking or riding – no more than five hours a day surely – passing the hydro dams at Aratiatia, Ohakuri, Atiamuri, Whakamaru, Maraetai, Waipapa or Karapiro and their associated lakes or just trundling along under a canopy of native bush, through manicured pine forests or over clipped pasture.

After lunch, at a well-positioned riverside cafe of course, there's time for a round of golf – Lake Maraetai forms part of a water hazard at Mangakino's nine-hole course – or perhaps a trout fishing excursion, a paddle in a kayak, a swim in the lake, rock climbing or simply a lazy wine on the deck as the sun goes down.

Over dinner, you swap tales with a new bunch of friends and rejoice in the decision you made to spend a week riding the Great New Zealand River Ride.

Or, as it will eventually become known when the full 330km route is completed, the Mountain to the Sea trail.

Catchy name that.

But it's likely to remain just a name for several years yet, despite the best efforts of people such as Ali Van der Heyden.

Van der Heyden heads the Waikato River Trails Trust, an organisation that grew from the South Waikato District Council's Economic Development Trust, which was set up to help create opportunities in the district after heavy forestry industry layoffs in 2003.

She had already worked in community development for the council and was previously involved in the 4.7km Te Waihou walkway near Putaruru.

Van der Heyden says she "retired" but was approached to be part of the council's efforts to rejuvenate the struggling region.

She jumped at the chance to be part of the river trails project.

"I wanted to be involved," the staunch walkway advocate says.

The first project the trust undertook was building a 4km stretch of walking track from the Arapuni Dam to Jones Landing, on Lake Arapuni, which opened in 2004. While it's only for walkers, Van der Heyden says it's likely to be "rescoped" for bikes in the future.

What followed has been a further 2km section linking Arapuni Village to the dam, 3km from Whakamaru Dam to the Whakamaru Reserve, 5.5km from the Whakamaru Reserve to Dunham Point Reserve, 3km to the Whakamaru Christian Camp, the 400m Dunham Creek Mobility Trail and the 13.5km Atiamuri Trail. Collectively, the last five trails join up to create a 25km trail from Atiamuri to Whakamaru. But to link up with the Arapuni sections, "there's 41km to go," Van der Heyden says.

Last week Prime Minister John Key smoothed the road ahead somewhat by announcing $3 million in funding to complete the two remaining sections needed to link all the trails and create a 100km continuous trail from Atiamuri in the south to Lake Karapiro in the north.

Key is really only a recent addition to the peloton after his recession-fuelled Jobs Summit in February – where luxury real estate agent Graham Wall came up with the idea of a national cycleway – but has been peddling the idea ever since.

His National Cycle Trail Fund will pay for the trail from Waipapa Dam to Lake Karapiro in the north of the district and the Whakamaru to Mangakino central section.

The final section, between Maraetai and Waipapa dams, has largely been