A new road into the Christchurch Adventure Park (CAP) has officially opened today, and its name revealed as ‘McVicar Drive’. The new access road has been named after the McVicar family, who own the land that the Adventure Park is located on.
As well as providing access to CAP, McVicar Drive will link future stages of the Cashmere Estate development. The Cashmere Estate property was purchased from the McVicar Family who had owned the property since 1979. Graeme and Joy McVicar lived on the farm with their family from 1982 until 2017 and Graeme says he has kept an interested eye on the development of the area since but had no inkling that the McVicar name would be used.
“Hamish at CCL came up with the idea of McVicar Drive, and the first I knew of it was once the Council had approved it. My late nephew, Gary, had the initial vision to build this Adventure Park in the Port Hills, so I think he would be pleased to see this improved access road. Hamish and the team are doing a good job here and I know the plans include some nice features like a walking trail from one valley to the other in the future, so it will be a great addition to the area.”
Hamish Wright, Managing Director for CCL Construction Contracting who are the lead contractor for the Cashmere Estate development, said the opening of the road was a pleasing milestone for the project.
“It has been exciting to see McVicar Drive take shape, and fantastic to have some of our Worsleys Road neighbours come out this evening to be the first to bike or walk along the new road. We were able to thank those neighbours for their patience while we completed this part of the project, and we know that the Christchurch Adventure Park users are going to love having this new scenic drive or ride through the Cashmere and Worsleys Valleys instead of the bumpy, dusty ride that was the old, temporary access road.”
CAP General Manager Anne Newman said the new access road will enhance the overall experience at the Park, providing an all-weather entrance that is much more fitting for the world-class facility than the previous access road.
“Our Park users and staff have been very patient with the existing access but I know they will be stoked to enter via the far more pleasant McVicar Drive from tomorrow! As the surrounding wetlands continue to develop, this will become much more than just an access road, as walkers and riders will be able to stop off or take additional trails through the wetland reserve at various points along the road.
“The McVicar involvement in CAP stems right from Gary McVicar sparking the idea of the Adventure Park, to his family following through with that dream by leasing the land that the Park is built on and becoming one of the project’s early investors, and his son John McVicar becoming one of our Board Directors, so we think this is an apt way to acknowledge the huge contribution the McVicar family have made to the Christchurch Adventure Park and to this area of Christchurch.”
John McVicar said his father would be pleased with the new ‘McVicar Drive’ for a number of reasons: “Unfortunately Dad didn’t get to see his vision for this Adventure Park come to fruition, but I know he would be proud of what we have achieved. He would be happy to see this new access road providing a much more picturesque and rider-friendly entry into the Park and, given his passion for cars, I think he would be quietly chuffed to have a road in the McVicar name.”
McVicar Drive opens to the public from Friday 23 October 2020.
