One thing about New Zealanders is that they love their outdoor activities. Sports, exercise, I’d say they would have to definitely be above average worldwide in terms of the importance they place on keeping healthy and staying fit.
In one way or another (probably a combination of osmosis, shame, and a realisation of how unfit we were) this has prompted us to take up mountain biking.
For someone previously completely unfit, I am now showing signs of developing actual muscles in my legs. True story.
NZ has some seriously impressive areas of land set aside for mountain bike parks, not least of which is my local, the Eskdale Mountain Bike Park.
Top of the Thistle trail.
It consists of around 300 hectares of forestry land, with about 75km of purpose built biking trails, ranging from nice-and-easy beginners’ circuits through to hardcore downhill sections.
So far we’ve tackled the gentler parts of the park that don’t involve (too many) climbs, so I’ll give an overview of th tracks we’ve ridden below.
Pace
A hugely fun course, consisting of fast smooth bits, some slower, rougher, more technical bits, and one bastard of a dip that I just can’t get across properly. Definitely our favourite.
A dip on Pace.
Merv’s
A nice fun ride. Can do it pretty quickly, but you have to be careful of the sections where you need to dodge narrow gaps between trees or take the odd sharp corner.
Boulder
A lot more challenging, has a few more climbs and also some pretty demanding descents. Also part of the track you are on the side of a pretty steep hill that you definitely do not want to fall down. Brilliant fun.
Sandpit
A longer easy ride, takes you almost the length of the lower part of the park. Great one for beginners, or cross country riders.
Thistle
A good fun up-and-down track. Branches off Boulder, involved a bit of a climb, followed by a flat-out descent down towards the end of Merv’s track. Not as fun as Boulder or Pace, but worth doing.
Bottom of the Thistle trail.
Shall keep you updated as we tackle more tracks. Need to build up the old legs a bit before having a crack at some of the more challenging tracks though!
Sue said
Its funny how no one comments on a post that is positive about NZ. Be kind folks
Billy_t said
Mountain biking in NZ kicks ass. Way better than in Aust – partially because of better terrain, and partially because of support from councils and less nanny state litigeous wowserism (which, sadly, is taking over in Australia).
Go check out http://www.vorb.org.nz for great local info on rides etc.
Scott said
Rotorua, mountain bike capital of the world!!
Bo Bo said
Roto Vegas has the best MTB tracks in the NZ. Its far away from the smelly parts to so there will be plenty of fresh air to suck in while your pedalling :-)
Roger said
… no one posts because of its nature: Mountain Biking. Limited interest for most readers.
Am keen to get onto some NZ mtb tracks. Gotta travel miles here to find anything as interesting as you’d get in NZ.
Richard said
I love the use of the word “osmosis” to describe acquired social activities. Osmosis is the movement of water molecules from and area of high concentration to that of a low concentration through a semi-permeable membrane. A very specific process that most 4th Form science students would know.
“Diffusion” would be a better term as that refers to the movement of elements from one culture to another (scientific or social) and does not require a semi-permeable membrane.
Carl said
Thanks for inserting a report & info about our little turf of paradise here in the Hawkes Bay.
Eskdale MTB Park (over 75km within 356ha) is our main base for the HBMTBC (largest cycling club in NZ with over 1900 members), located just 10 minutes drive north of Napier. We also have a specialist DH park further up the road and a family level XC park down at Waipukurau (10km within 50ha).
The sport of mountain biking is a very rapidly growing recreational activity in NZ – since 2000, our club has consistantly doubled in size every 24 months, as it caters for everyone from preschoolers to the retired grandparents, from the novice beginners to the pro’s (we currently have 2 local U19 downhill riders who are racing on the world cup circuit as pro riders!).
I’d place Whakarewarewa (Rotorua), Eskdale (Napier), Makara Peak (Wellington) & Woodhill (Auckland) as the top 4 purpose-built mountain venues in the North Island.
admin said
Hi Carl,
Thanks for leaving a comment. You and your crew have done a top-notch job with the park, and I’m looking forward to exploring more of it as the old fitness and riding skill improves.
Carl said
You should try out the tracks at the Tait Rd end of the Park such as Zigity, Dingo Valley, Blackberry & Forest Gump.
I forgot to add Wairakei (Taupo) to the list above. Also the new W2K track is an easy walking/cycling track just out of Taupo & is a must ride – extremely scenic – http://www.biketaupo.org.nz
admin said
Cheers Carl. I haven’t been on any of the tracks at the Tait Rd end as yet, so I’ll try to rectify that soon.