Our Impact

We’re proud to support initiatives in Tāhuna Queenstown across four interlinked areas.

Graphic of a horizontal bike chain with interconnected circles labeled Bike & Trail, Regenerative, Economy, and Community.

EXPLORE RECENT PROJECTS

Oiling the chain at Queenstown Mountain Bike Club

A person riding a mountain bike on a trail in a hilly landscape with a river and mountains in the background.

QTMBC is a volunteer-driven organisation that has progressed mountain biking into a defining part of Queenstown’s identity. Since 2024 TRAC has committed funding, allowing the club to:

  • Develop new trails, such as the Creaky Winders uphill climb

  • Maintain existing trails to ensure quality and safety

  • Build capacity for strategic planning, advocacy and fundraising

BIKE & TRAIL | ECONOMY | COMMUNITY

Targeted support for QTMBC’s work on Ben Lomond Trails

Mountain biker riding on a trail through a dense, mossy forest with tall trees.

Technical and twisty, the Ben Lomond Trails are Queenstown mountain biking at its most iconic. Funding from TRAC complements the contributions from QLDC and Skyline to sustain the trail network. Specifically it:

  • Supports trail maintenance and upkeep

  • Creates apprentice trail-building roles during the peak summer period

  • Generates opportunities for youth interns to upskill

BIKE & TRAIL | COMMUNITY

An outstanding new trail network for Coronet Peak

Sam Hill Signature Trails | Photography by: Callum Hayes

Project Tohu, led by QLDC, is one of the largest revegetation projects being undertaken in Aotearoa New Zealand. As part of the transition to indigenous beech forest, TRAC's largest commitment yet, of $1.3 million, will support the creation of a new mountain bike trail network on Coronet Peak. The trails are being constructed by world-class builders under the site management of Te Tapu o Tāne.

This landmark collaboration between philanthropy, local government, and conservation partners will:

  • Cement Queenstown’s reputation as a world-leading bike destination

  • Create community access to the newly reforested area

  • Enhance biodiversity in the Waiwhakaata/Lake Hayes catchment, improve water quality, and protect a taonga for future generations

  • Open up new, publicly accessible recreational spaces for hiking, horse trekking and biking

BIKE & TRAIL | REGENERATIVE | ECONOMY | COMMUNITY

A safety initiative for Queenstown’s biking community

Group of mountain rescue team members in forest examining a rescue stretcher and equipment.

With limited patrol presence on trails, particularly at Ben Lomond, there is a critical shortage of trained patrollers. TRAC funding has supported Treadmark to offer practical workshops to strengthen rider safety and resilience.

The funding has enabled:

  • Three First Aid & Skills clinics, delivered by specialist emergency management educators Peak Safety

  • Practical, scenario-based training tailored for both adults and children

  • A larger and more confident network of skilled first responders riding the trails 

 

BIKE & TRAIL | COMMUNITY

If bike visitor spending grows according to the potential growth scenario in this report, then biking could become almost 50% of the size of the ski visitor economy by 2026.

The contribution of biking to the Queenstown-Lakes economy, 2022

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Photographer: Matthew Fairbrother

OUR TRAC RECORD

Before TRAC was formalised as a charitable trust, Rod and his crew teamed up on a number of projects aligned with our vision. Like our current work, these projects will regenerate Queenstown’s unique environment and build its reputation as a world-leading bike destination.

Natural Selection Bike

A mountain biker performing a jump on a dirt trail with large, curved dirt mounds in a mountainous landscape.

Queenstown is now on the map for the world’s most exciting global action sports event series. NST Bike Aotearoa showcases an elite international MTB lineup, and secures Mt Dewar as an unmissable fixture on the MTB calendar. Coverage of the first event generated a global reach of 8.7 billion and advertising value of NZD $138 million.

Connecting pulse points: The Kimi-ākau Bridge

A suspension bridge crossing a peaceful river in a valley with hills and trees, under a blue sky with scattered clouds.

Rod’s contribution to the Queenstown Trails Trust supported the bridge’s construction, linking residential suburbs to the northern side of the Whakatipu basin. The connection strengthens Queenstown’s active travel network for local commuters and increases possibilities for bike tourism.

A living engine room: Te Kohaka o Taramea

A young tree growing in a protective metal sleeve on a hillside with dry grass, with snow-capped mountains in the background against a clear blue sky.

Securing his commitment to the shared environmental and recreational vision for Coronet Peak, Rod gifted 4 hectares of land to Te Tapu o Tāne. The site, named Te Kohaka o Taramea, is now being used to harden young native plants for the planting phases to come.

Groundbreaking pest-control technology for Southern Lakes Sanctuary

A scenic landscape featuring a mountain valley with rolling hills, green fields, and distant mountains under a clear sky.

An arsenal of 35 self-resetting traps that use cutting-edge TrapsNodes technology is now making a huge dent in possum populations on Coronet Peak, thanks to a donation from Rod in 2023. The network of traps complements Project Tohu and has supercharged SLS’s predator control efforts.

Beech trees for Wynyard Jump Park

Two men with mountain bikes standing on a dirt trail in a forest, wearing helmets and casual clothing, with sunlight filtering through the trees.

The Fernhill Trails are a huge drawcard for bikers in Queenstown, including the Wynyard Jump Park which is built and managed by Queenstown Mountain Bike Club. A donation of 1000 beech trees is helping to re-introduce native vegetation to this pine-dominated zone.

Regenerating an essential wetland at Waiwhakaata-Lake Hayes

Large group of people planting trees on a field near a lake with mountains in the background.

A contribution to Mana Tāhuna Charitable Trust allowed them to extend the scale of a major collaborative wetland restoration project, one that will lead to a significant improvement in the catchment’s water quality. Alongside a number of other measures, 150,000 natives were planted on the northern foreshore to restore the natural floodplain and filter nutrients from the accumulated water.

Aotearoa’s largest commercially funded native reforestation project

Group of people outdoors in a grassy field with mountain range in the background, working with some green and orange containers and wooden sticks.

Rod’s investment in Treespace has ensured the viability of a nation-leading model that will provide intergenerational environmental benefits to the Whakatipu basin. 400Ha of native beech forest will be regenerated on Mt Dewar and 50km of publicly accessible hiking and biking trails developed.