Hoods Creek Opening Day – April 2012

The Hoods Creek Track in Herbert Forest was reopened in brilliant weather on the 15th April 2012. Before a crowd of about 90 people Waitaki District Mayor Alex Familton, and Tramping Club President Bronwyn McCone cut the ribbon to mark the occasion. It was the culmination of many hours of work by Club members to reopen the track which had been closed since the Cave Creek tragedy with the removal of a walkway around the waterfall.

Pivotal to the reopening was the construction and installation of a steel stairway up the waterfall bank.
After the opening many of the those present walked the Hoods Creek Track, as well as the Podocarp and Swallows Tracks, guided by Club members.

Owners of Herbert Forest, Blakely Pacific generously funded track signage and the staircase , built by Apex Engineering, and have been very accommodating to the Clubs wishes and suggestions. North Otago Land SAR supplied radio communication for the day. North Otago Motor Group supported the guided day by donating a rental van for the use of the club to ferry members of the public to and from various starting and finishing places within the forest.
All Herbert Forest Tracks are open to the public, and maps are displayed and available for self guiding at the forest entrances at Swallows Loop track and the end of Breakneck Road. Please return the laminated map to the box when you return.