Happy trails in Waitangi’s hills
Move over Rotorua, mountainbiking enthusiast Brett Atkinson has found equally exciting trails further north at Waitangi.
It is a good thing there is limited cellphone coverage amid the tight switchbacks and uphill terrain of Taane’s Climb at the Waitangi Mountain Bike Park.
Negotiating the narrow forested trail on an ebike is very easy, even for a middle-aged Aucklander more accustomed to steering a 20-year-old mountainbike around Cornwall Park’s gentle inclines – and given sufficient mobile access, I would probably be stopping to impulsively drop $10K on an online purchase of a powerful and sturdy Husqvarna Mountain Cross 5.
Completing a leisurely loop of One Tree Hill would never be the same.
With quads and calves still slightly fatigued from completing the Pou Herenga Tai Twin Coast Cycle Trail from the Bay of Islands to Hokianga Harbour across the previous two days, I had actually woken up unsure whether another morning on two wheels was the best idea. Just minutes into the experience, I jettisoned all doubt.
Warmed by northern sunshine outside the park’s combination of cafe, information centre and bike workshop, Georgie Martin from Paihia Mountain Bikes talks me through a detailed map of the park.
Around 50km of trails course through the park’s shaded terrain, part of the Waitangi Endowment Forest gifted to New Zealand in 1932 by Governor-General Lord Bledisloe at the same time as the Waitangi Treaty Grounds.
Now the waterfront forest, framed on its western edges by the dual volcanic cones of Te Puke, is managed by the Department of Conservation. A further 30km of trails is planned, also designed by global track design superstars Rotorua’s Southstar Trails, further reinforcing the park as one of the country’s finest mountainbiking destinations.
Mountainbikers regularly head to Rotorua’s towering Redwoods and Whakarewarewa Forest, but Waitangi’s Bay of Islands option just three hours north of Auckland is equally impressive.
Equipped with Georgie’s recommendations – many of the park’s 46 trails have names celebrating the region’s Māori heritage – I enter the park past five carved pou whenua and bump along a dusty forestry road to the start of various trails.
The Holland Days trail – named after Tiff Holland, a bike-mad Paihia local instrumental in getting the park established in 2016 – is classed as a family-friendly Grade 2 option and, nearby, the Mokopuna trail also offers gently undulating thrills for riders of all ages and experience.
The park’s trails do escalate to technically challenging Grade 5 adventures for experts, but there are many accessible options for mountainbiking novices.
Detouring from the sunny open country of the access road, I begin the Kahotea Loop, a rolling and flowing trail around a big swamp formed by centuries-old lava flows from Te Puke’s volcanic calderas.
It is a two-way trail – also Grade 2 – but on a February weekday morning shaded by native shrubs and pine trees, there is no oncoming two-wheeled traffic.
Birds launch themselves into skittering flight as I approach, shimmering stands of toe toe frame the edge of the swamp, and Kahotea’s gentle curves are the ideal way to begin the day’s Waitangi adventure.
Armed with Georgie’s detailed notation, and aided by excellent signage through the park, I divert from the Kahotea Loop to venture upwards on Taane’s Climb. It is also a Grade 2 trail, but narrower and only open to uphill traffic.
Aided by the Husqvarna’s powerful pedalassist motor, great suspension and 11-speed gears, the hills and switchbacks melt away, and I am soon effortlessly two-thirds up the climb.
Under the forest canopy and dappled sunlight, I have a decision to make. Continuing on Taane’s Climb would link to the Kaiinga Kauri trail and Bay of Islands views from the Mt Bledisloe Lookout, but there is also a more exciting and challenging downhill alternative.
Setting off on the Grade 3 (intermediate) Kao Kao Chaos trail, I discover why it is one of Georgie’s favourites. Carefully squeezing the bike through narrow obstacles framed by pine saplings, I continue downhill on a wildly undulating trail.
Tree roots and rocks combine for natural chicanes, and, once I have my confidence up, I steer my bike a little higher on the trail’s berms and banked corners.
Running parallel to Kao Kao Chaos, the Grade 2 Hua Link trail also returns to the access road, but I am having way too much fun to contemplate downgrading from my new Grade 3 favourite.
Now, about sourcing the best price for a Husqvarna Mountain Cross 5 . . .