Vital link completed for Gibbston River Trail

Nine private landholders granted public access easements for the Gibbston River Trail. Now, another generous Gibbston couple is joining their ranks.

Kelvin and Mary Lavell are granting an easement to link the eastern and western ends of the popular walking and mountain biking trail. This bit of track is the vital link that will allow folks to safely enjoy using the entire trail without going onto the state highway.

“When the trail opened in December, we were unable to join the 2 ends of the trail along the river, so we approached Kelvin and Mary for help with an alternate route. They were keen, so it was just a matter of sorting the details and working through the paperwork,” said Susan Stevens, Chairman of the Gibbston Community Association.

Track construction was completed last week. The Lavells were chuffed to contribute the final 100 metres to

connect the Wentworth Bridge Loop to the Waitiri Loop via the Gibbston Highway Trail, which is a 1.2km track along the highway verges by the farm fencelines.

“We are privileged to live in such a stunning place and now more folk can share the spectacular scenery and rich history from a river trail which ranks right up there for diversity and beauty,” said Kelvin and Mary Lavell.

NZTA, Opus and Lakes Environmental donated and processed the necessary authorisations. Southern Safety donated the traffic management for the work along the highway and Treecare Southern Lakes donated arborist services.

Greg Lind, Wakatipu Area Manager for the Department of Conservation said the directional signs for the junction were underway and would be installed later this month.