Wellington Branch Field trip on Sunday 1 May.

Rendezvous at 10am at Glenis and Hamish Levack’s forest HQ on Sunday 1 May 2022.

Bring your lunch. Drinks will be provided.

The attached map shows how to get there.

If you are travelling north from Wellington on the new Transition Gully motorway, turn off to the left at MacKays Crossing. Then go up Emerald Glen Road, which changes its name to Waterfall road, then to Valley road. On the right of Valley road you will see Maungakotukutuku road. Follow this about 6km nearly to the end, where you will see the large Levack Forest gate sign.

Phone 04-4766787 or email hlevack@xtra.co.nz beforehand if you have any questions. Note that there is no cell phone coverage when you get to Levack HQ.

What is planned.

10.00 am to 10.30am: Assemble and have morning tea.

10.30 am to 11.00 am Chris Gibbons, of Forest 360, will talk about setting up the harvesting of China Forest Group’s [CFG’s] cutting right on the adjacent land owned by Greater Wellington Council. A tethered machine and other impressive gear is being used.

11.00 to 11.30 am John Renshaw and Thane Walls of Greater Wellington Regional Council,[GWRC and Janice Hill of the Kapiti Coast District Council [KCDC] will explain plans to control anti-social public behaviour at the end of Maungakotukutuku Road, and the wider plans to develop track linkages for walkers, cyclists, horse-riders and responsible 4WD clubs through nearby DOC, GWRC, and KCDC native forest reserves and parks.

11.30 to 12.00 Peter Hanford, of Groundtruth, will cover the KCDC’s plans to rehabilitate the sides of the Maungakotukutuku stream.

12.00 to 12.30 pm lunch

12.30 to 1.30 pm Drive up to the top of Levack forest and walk for about quarter of an hour to see the dug-in bulldozer that spools out the steel cables to the tethered harvesting machine down below. [Note the radiata silviculture, the E. sphaerocarpa, E. muelleriana, E. eugenioides & E. Laevopinea trials, and some cypresses on the way.]

1.30 to 2.00 pm drive back down Levack forest, noting the Kauri and redwood trials on the flats, and out to the end of Maungakotukutuku road to see what John ,Thane, Janice, and Peter will have already discussed, and look where Forest 360 have been landing and stacking CFG’s logs.

3.00 + pm the new Wellington NZFFA Branch Committee [and anyone else who wants to hang around] return to Levack Forest HQ for another cup of tea and a managers’ meeting.