A new walking track
For the new month, the park rangers are undertaking a ‘wishlist’ project. With the National Park still closed to visitors, we now have much time on hand to finally get it done. It’s a project, we’ve discussed and shelved a few times.
Yet somehow this year, we found the renewed vigour for it. And the timing couldn’t have been better.
The last two weeks have been frantic. We’ve finalised all the last-minute details - holding the final meeting, agreeing on the work schedule, getting the tools ready and pouring over the park maps again. We are adamant, there will be no room for retracting.
We are happy to report, we have commenced work on the project, just a day ago (on Thursday, July 1, 2021).
The project is the creation of the Driodrio track, a new walking track for the National Park.
One that existed in concept, not too long ago and is slowly getting etched into existence onto the dune landscape.
It’s a big deal and here is why. Walking tracks for any National Parks are vital, for it’s through them that visitors discover the speciallness of the place.
They add the ‘adventure appeal’, enticing people to venture out and explore the great outdoors. It’s through these tracks, you can get to see birds in their homes. You get to walk under the canopies of many trees.
You get to experience the shade of a forest or the full scorching heat of the sun. A track can lead you up a mountain, down into a canyon or even across a river.
In a sense, walking tracks are portals into wild places, into the natural world. They connect you to Mother Nature.
WALKING TRACKS AT THE DUNES
At the Sigatoka Dunes National Park, we have 14 walking tracks. Most came into existence around 1997 and a few, about 2006.
And they have been facilitating, quite dutifully, the discovery of Fiji’s only dune system.
Many visitors to the park have walked these tracks and they can attest to how advantageous it is to have them. And if you are one of these visitors, then you know what we speak of. The making of tracks is no simple affair.
It requires a good deal of work from the rangers.
First, we have a planning phase to decide on the track path. This is followed by some reconnaissance, to see if the track path is a good one. And finally, you have the implementation phase, the
making of the actual track.
The track making process outlined here is an oversimplification, but it gives you the gist of the work involved. Once the track is ready, you only have to observe people on track to appreciate its functionality.
The new Driodrio track is scheduled to be completed by the end of July. It’s a special track that follows the fringe of the Park’s only stand of Dry Forest and serves a dual purpose. It acts as a path and a protective barrier.
The rangers are looking forward to the completion of this track. It has been a while since we’ve made one. And we’ve not forgotten how laborious they are to make. But we take heart in the blessings such a track will bestow on all who walk on them.
Once our current COVID-19 predicament eases, we invite you to come visit the National Park and try out our walking tracks, including the new one.
We Rangers have a saying that summarises the value of a track. It’s goes something like this ‘walk to see and see to learn’.
Stay safe.