Bridle paths in the Marlborough Sounds, their history, use and interpretation

Abstract

The Marlborough Sounds have played a unique role in New Zealand's history. The european explorers, Abel Tasman and Captain James Cook visited the Sounds on a number of occasions during their travels to New Zealand. Approximately 70 years later settlers arrived and started to farm in the area. Due to lack of access, bridle paths were cleared and formed. These were used for access for the settlers as well as stock driving. Today, they are still very important for access. A number of them have been widened and are now roads in the Sounds, others have been recleared and used for walking tracks, and farmers in a few areas still use the paths for farm tracks and driving stock. Outdoor recreation demand has increased dramatically over the past number of years. The Marlborough Sounds Maritime park, which was formed in 1972, is now establishing a walkway system by linking these old bridle paths. The aim of this study is to investigate these bridle paths and in particular to discover why, when and how the paths were formed. The study starts by looking at the Marlborough Sounds in a wide context to set the scene and to give the reader a general introduction to the land. The demand and use of the area is investigated briefly with special focus on the demand for outdoor recreation. This leads to a close look at bridle paths and their part in the historical development of the Sounds. As a number of the bridle paths are being formed into an intergrated walkway system, visitor use of the paths is likely to increase. The study concludes with the discussion of the potential for using interpretative techniques to aid management and to increase visitor injoyment of the bridle paths.