Where did that come from...?

In previous posts I've written about how difficult the hand-benching of Skullduggery was. Alongside the steep terrain, tree roots & granite rock, a significant stream crossing presented a major hurdle.
A brief scramble down & up did provide an opportunity to refill the water bottle but it also interrupted the flow of the track. Despite the logistical challenge, we decided a bridge was needed.

Andy Ward designed the 5.5m bridge to DOC standards and Waimea Wood of Nelson donated all of the timber requirements.
Talleys delivered it FOC to the Park where Andy set about cutting it to length.

Graham Milne, groundsman at the nearby Kaiteriteri Beach Motor Camp, used their tractor to drag & carry two loads of timber up Big Airs to the junction with Skullduggery.

From here there was only one way to transport the timber along the 700m of narrow singletrack to the stream - by shoulder!
The bulk of this was done one evening over several trips by Bill Hollick, Tony Baldwin, Michael Brewer, Caillin Morris-Trainor (pictured), Gary Drummond & Ross Maley.


Andy then took time out from xmas celebrations to oversee construction of the bridge, assisted here by Ross & Caillin (pictured) and Oliver Weber.
Over two days of digging, sawing, nailing, drilling, bolting & stapling later, it was finished.

It's still possible to climb down to the stream to refill that water bottle but it is also a picturesque spot to pause and wait for companions - the native wood pigeons seem to think so too.



Or you may prefer to maintain your flow on the way to the junction with Flamin' Nora like 'home-for-the-holidays' Zoe Morris-Trainor...


and Andy Gray & Pete Allison from Nelson, enjoying the relative coolness of riding in the forest on one of Kaiteriteri's hottest days!

Gold sponsors Waimea Wood continue to meet our timber needs in a variety of ways, from bridge materials to track marker posts to planned Skills Area constructions. That support complements the many hours dedicated volunteers put into developing & maintaining the Park, making it a truly community-based asset.