Stranded trampers blamed for Lake Coleridge poo pr

comment posted on the Te Araroa facebook group in relation to this article by someone who's walked through the area Christopher Smith " Nice to see this problem getting some coverage. I got stranded there earlier this year and only avoided the problem by calling a distant relative for a favor. The TA takes people from Homestead road to the village. This section is a huge problem as it has significant issues with landowners hostile to the TA, but it also takes you to a village that doesnt want you and doesnt have any sutible facilities. Many hikers arrive there and figure out they should never have gone there but are then unable to leave. My opinion is that this section should be closed untill there are suitable facilities. The alternitive is to keep hikers on Homestead rd going south to Colridge rd, a more direct path to Rakaia Gorge. That still makes it a very large walk from camp to camp, but it bypasses the village and has better hitchhiking opertunities."

Reading the comments below this article, one local said the daytrippers are far more of a problem for rubbish etc. than the TA trampers.

article about TA and the village http://whiowhio.weebly.com/blog/is-te-araroa-good-for-small-towns

Not wanting to generalize and pick on foreigners, but given their attitude to casual crapping (i.e. not burying/away from waterways/drainage) What is happening on the TA away from civilization? Surely some boffin assessed the impact of increased sh## on the trail, especially around communities?

the TA trail isnt run by a govt agency, its run by a private trust... no boffins in the TA. their assessments are limited. their advice for places like lake colleridge where the track isnt continuos is deal with it and work it out for yourself... they provide information about the track and coordinate its maintenance , and its maintenance varies a great deal depending on the amount of money available for various places and how many volunteers are around.

strider, What evidence do you have that foreigners are more likely to causal crap then locals. What is happening on any track or route away from civilization?

The most popular place to pee for many locals is the back wall of the hut...

That's a good question @militaris. Are the perpetrators local or foreign? Because if the former, is basic bush-craft many of us learnt not being taught or passed on to the younger gen? It is not always easy to prove who is the culprit.

When you look at the map you can see the issue. Ignoring all the talk about certain people not caring where they go etc which is partially relevant but only part of the story the issue with this spot remains. Its a day and a halfs plus or minus walk between the 2 campsites and this spot is listed as a village. It is a village but not one with any public facilities including shops loos and camping spots. Its the only spot between the two campsites on the listed trail that is even half pie suitable to camp at wanted or not. The questions asked in the article are quite valid. Should the trail rally go through here? What are the options and are they practical? Castle hill is mentioned but the rough map looks like following the river might work as well. Ive not studied either option. If this option is the best then a campsite with facilities should be provided but who pays for this both purchase building and upkeep? How have members here that have done the walk got on on this section?