As usual I and hundreds of others like to spend Sunday mornings mountain biking and today was no exception. The Waipa car park was buzzing, bikes were being unloaded or loaded and children were zipping round on their balance bikes. Eager anticipation and smiles all round.
By 11am I had pedalled my way to the recently opened F H 2 out on the road to the Blue Lake. What a sorry sight. 8 cars in the 400 car carpark, weeds growing between the concrete slabs and deep gouging up to 200mm deep in sections of the path, this caused by heavy rain. No vitality, no families and nothing to savour, just a scene reminiscent of a disused industrial site. Yes, there are awesome tracks nearby but they are easily accessible from other places and not young family friendly as are many close to Waipa.
And yet ratepayers are being forced to throw good money after bad to satisfy the dreams and stalled business aspirations of a few.
Paddi Hodgkiss