Kaimanawa East Taupo Lands Block access for FMC

This is only a partial positive, but reading the latest Federated Mountain Clubs Bulletin (195, March 2014), I see that FMC has managed to negotiate some access to the private land within Kaimanawa Forest Park "for FMC affiliated club members". This land block has been cut off since Air Charter Taupo's lease on the land block was up, along with the permit system which it had for allowing trampers to pay to cross its land from one side of the park to the other. There are several nominated routes, and the gist of it is that those wanting to arrange access should contact Helisika to discuss the proposed travel arrangements, and possibly provide a detailed plan. It may then be approved, depending on the presence of hunting and fishing clients in the area at the time. No charge, but all party members need to be carrying FMC affiliate cards. (So you'd need to be a member of an affiliated tramping or mountaineering club.) See page 23 of bulletin 195 for more details. So, it sounds like a good point (alongside actually being able to access the land again) is that this is probably a better, cheaper and more flexible access arrangement than Air Charter Taupo offered a few years ago. A down-point for some is that it's only available for FMC members. I'm not sure what to think of the latter point. I'm not a fan of privileged access generally, but I appreciate the effort that FMC puts into this type of thing. It represents its supporting members and affiliates before anyone else, and in the context it may have been much easier to negotiate access just for affiliates with established clubs (thereby putting its reputation on the line) than to arrange it for any and every random, un-known person who might phone up Helisika. In light of what's been arranged, I'd think that if you could convince Helisika that you were responsible, you could possibly try your luck by contacting Helisika and trying your luck even if you're not an affiliate.