With the summer months officially here, Auckland Council rangers are working to prepare walking tracks in the Waitakere Ranges for heavier foot traffic.
The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has lent a hand in maintaining one of the few tracks unaffected by kauri dieback so that rangers can focus on reopening the tracks that have been.
It involved 8.5 tonnes of metal chip, picked up by a Seasprite helicopter and flown into the Waitakere Ranges to be spread out over the Lake Wainamu walking track.
"We do expect an increased loading of people this summer following our other track closures in the Waitakere Ranges," David Markham, the Senior Programmes Ranger for Western Regional Parks, said.
"So it is one of our currently open tracks, and we're looking to keep it as good as possible".
The NZDF team are picking up 18 bags of metal chip one by one, and then dropping them at five drop locations along the track.
- Current tools 'not sufficient' to defeat kauri dieback, Govt document warns
- Government announces special funding to fight kauri dieback
What would have taken more than a week for Auckland Council rangers was made quick work by the NZDF.
The Wainamu track is one of just 30 that are currently open in the Waitakere Ranges;103 are closed to help tackle kauri dieback.
And although the gravel work is primarily for track up-keep, it's a technique that will be used on other closed tracks like the popular Kitekite Falls route, to help stop the spread of dieback.
A far-from-ordinary operation, as rangers work towards saving our precious kauri.
Newshub.
