Helicopter aids bike park makeover
A helicopter has been recruited to spread gravel over trails in the Makara Mountain Bike Park, as work resumed with the country’s move down to alert level 2.
Good progress was made during fine and calm conditions last Wednesday, as up to 19 tonnes of gravel were flown from Makara Peak into the trail network.
Wellington City Council trails and reserves specialist Tim Harkness said he felt lucky to get under way after watching so many wasted days pass him by during the lockdown.
The original T3 trail, which is described as ‘‘technical torture’’ on the Makara Peak Mountain Bike Park website, is being converted from a grade four two-way track to a grade three climbing track.
The work is the first stage in a series of improvements to trails in the northern end of the park, scheduled over the next two to three years.
Nearby Zac’s track will be rebuilt for downhill riders, and the two tracks, once linked, will add short and long grade three loops to the park.
Those seeking something more challenging should find the changes make for easier access to the higher grade Trickle Falls and Vertigo trails.
Local rider Leif Roy said T3 ‘‘was an odd one’’. Despite his appreciation of the tight, low-speed quirks, he admitted: ‘‘I don’t think I’ll end up missing it too much.’’
When finished, the new track will cover almost 1.2 kilometres. Harkness said the length and elevation of the trail made the helicopter a more costeffective tool than the usual wheelbarrows and human labour.
A raking crew would work the trail for two days. He estimated it should be rideable two weeks later once the gravel had settled.
The top half of the park had been closed from May 13, with rangers and volunteers stationed at the peak and entrance points to intercept users who missed the closure announcements.
‘‘Most people in the area have been aware the park was closed,’’ Harkness said, with only a small number needing redirecting to the lower trails that remained rideable.
An easier climb from the park’s Makara Rd entrance should also provide a useful alternative for riders after a slip blocked the Sally Alley trail during lockdown.
That trail had been a heavily used section for those ascending from the main car park since its construction in 1999. Assessments over the next weeks will determine whether there could be a viable route above the damage, which remains unstable.
Harkness said a potential six-figure cost made bridging the area unlikely and any solution to the slip would potentially take a year to be completed.