Upper Hutt celebrates new bridges with bird names

Special Bus Tours through the Akatarawa Valley in Upper Hutt on Saturday 19 November will take visitors to view the three new bridges and the tour will end with an opportunity to enjoy a visit at Staglands Wildlife Reserve who are offering ½ price entry into the reserve fees for everybody as part of the celebrations.

The Akatarawa Road was reopened at Labour Weekend when the three new bridges were completed. The Akatarawa Valley road is a scenic route linking Upper Hutt with Waikanae and the Kapiti Coast. The many attractions along the route includes two blueberry farms, Efil Doog Garden of Art and Staglands Wildlife Reserve.

To enable visitors without motor vehicles to visit the bridges and Staglands, special buses will depart from Harcourt Park at the start of Akatarawa Road .

Visitors can easily connect with Harcourt Park using the 110 bus from Central Upper Hutt and the Upper Hutt Railway Station.

Buses will depart from Harcourt Park car park at 11am, 1pm and 2.30pm. Bookings are essential for the timed tours and can be made by phoning the Upper Hutt i-SITE Visitor Centre on (04) 527 2141 or by visiting the i-SITE at 90 Main Street, Upper Hutt. The gold coin donation fare of $2.00 adult, $1.00 child (under 3 is free) can be paid on the bus.

Each bus will carry a host to explain the sights along the route including details of each of the bridges when brief stops are made at them, introductions before the visit to Staglands Wildlife Reserve. Each bus will have a the fixed time return to Harcourt Park.

Staglands Wildlife Reserve, a major feature on Akatarawa Road is easily accessed from Upper Hutt and Waikanae. To celebrate the road being re-opened they are offering ½ price entry into the reserve for all visitors to enjoy from Saturday 19 November through to the end of November.

Rimutaka Lions Club will have a sausage sizzle at the first new bridge. All proceeds will from the sausage sizzle and bus fares will go to the Blue Duck conservation programme at Staglands.

Visitors are welcome to make their own way to Staglands Wildlife Reserve for visit on this special day. A minibus will provide tours to the new bridges for $2.00 for adults and $1.00 for children. No bookings are needed for this tour. These will run from 11.30am until 4.00pm.

Mayor of Upper Hutt Wayne Guppy will visit the new bridges and Staglands Wildlife Reserve during the day to officially mark the celebrations.

A special attraction of the day will be the announcement of names proposed for the three new bridges. City Promotion Manager Paul Lambert says that with a heavy presence of birds in the Councils’ official crest, new street sculptures, in the wild in Akatarawa Valley and at Staglands Wildlife Reserve the selection of bird names for the bridges was an easy fit.

The first bridge will be known as Kaka bridge, especially as some of these birds have been seen nearby. The second bridge will be named Kereru bridge. The third bridge will be named Piwakawaka (fantail).

Staglands Wildlife Reserve offers a unique opportunity to feed and freely interact with birds and animals. Their fully licensed country café provides an idyllic l location for brunch, lunch or afternoon tea.

Check out www.staglands.co.nz for more details.

ENDS

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