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Bottom of the World - Surviving Whistler Top to Bottom
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MTB Trail Videos - Trail Centre Upgrade Program
VIDEO: The Fourth 365 Days of Reign - My 4th year of Mountain Biking
Pilot Wilderness Ride - Cascade to Pinch - Part 2
Pilot Wilderness Ride - Cascade to Pinch - Part 1
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VIDEO: Top XC Rides of 2014/2015
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VIDEO: Nine Days in the Rotorua Redwoods
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The New Majura Pines and Sparrow Hill Trip
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VIDEO: 2014 FAILS - Will Ride, Will Fail
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VIDEO: Wrapping up the Redwoods with a Whak-en Outrageous Ride
VIDEO: Return to the Redwoods Part IV - Eagle vs Shark
VIDEO: Return to the Redwoods Part III - XC Lower Mountain Pedally Days
VIDEO: Return to the Redwoods Part II - Heavily Rooted
VIDEO: Return to the Redwoods Part I - We're Going To The Redwoods
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Video: Return to Rotorua .. maybe?
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Bantry Bay (Northern Beaches, Sydney)
Bruce Ridge (Canberra)
Bungarra Alpine Centre (Snowy Mountains)
Currumbin Border Track (NSW/QLD Border)
Daisy Hill (South Brisbane)
East Kowen (Kowen Pine Forest, Canberra)
Forest Pipeline (Northern Beaches, Sydney)
Fred Caterson Reserve (Castle Hill)
Golden Jubilee Field MTB Park (North Shore, Sydney)
Hassans Walls (Lithgow)
Hinze Dam (Gold Coast)
Jackson (Jackson)
Jindabyne (Snowy Mountains)
Kiwarrak State Forest (Tarree)
Majura Pines (Majura, Canberra)
Manly Dam (Northern Beaches, Sydney)
Mt Joyce (Gold Coast Hinterland)
Mt Kosciuszko (Snowy Mountains)
Nerang State Forest (Gold Coast)
Newnes (Lithgow)
Old Man's Valley (Hornsby, Sydney)
Ourimbah (Central Coast)
Oxford Falls (Northern Beaches, Sydney)
Pilot Wilderness (Snowy Mountains)
Red Hill (Northern Beaches, Sydney)
Rotorua Redwoods (New Zealand)
Silver Mountain (Kellogg)
Singleton (Hunter Valley)
Sparrow Hill (Kowen Pine Forest, Canberra)
St Ives and Belrose (North Shore, Sydney)
Stromlo Forest Park (Canberra)
Terrey Hills (Northern Beaches, Sydney)
The Oaks (Blue Mountains)
Thredbo Resort (Snowy Mountains)
Thredbo Valley Trail (Snowy Mountains)
Whistler Bike Park (Whistler)
Wingello (Southern Highlands)
Wylde MTB Trail (Cecil Park - Western Sydney)
VIDEO: Wrapping up the Redwoods with a Whak-en Outrageous Ride
In this post I would like to tie up a few loose ends around my November 2014 and even January 2014 trips to the Rotorua Redwoods but before I do here is a video of my last day in the Redwoods.
The Whak-en Outrageous concept came to me a few days before I departed. On my last day I wanted to ride as many trails as I could in 1 day, in fact cover every trail I’d ridden on the days before.
Of course 8 days into my 9 day holiday in the Whaka Forest I knew that this wasn’t possible but I was going to leave the Redwoods with nothing left in the tank. The only thing that would hold me back was having to clean and pack my bike and still be capable of driving safely back to Auckland that night.
I started on the trail at 9:20am and pulled the pin 5.5 hours later. I rode from one side of the forest to the other and from front to back, covering plenty of trails in between and hitting a personal record of 39.5km in one day.
In this video are shots of every trail I rode on my Whak-en Outrageous last day in the Redwoods.
The three Stava rides (I stopped Strava each time I shuttled).
Part 1 – Challenge / Katore Rd area then to the Shuttle
Part II – Underbilly to Split Enz and back to the Shuttle
Part III – Eagle vs Shark and back to Waipa via Red Tank Rd, Be Rude and Mad if you don’t
RETURN TO THE REDWOODS - FULL FEATURE VIDEO
Stuff about Rotorua and the Redwoods
On both occasions I’ve flown in and out of Auckland due to deals I get as a Qantas Club Member (42kg of check-in means I can take 2 bikes). Air New Zealand flies direct from Sydney which might save you a bit of money, however I’m informed that the direct route is likely to end soon.
Driving from Auckland to Rotorua is easy. On this occasion I rented a cheap station wagon and that made fitting the bikes in so much easier. Do your homework on small car rental companies as they can be less than half the price of the major companies and they can include insurance in the price.
On both occasions I’ve stayed at the Alpin Motel, it’s reasonably priced, has a bike wash, is one of the closest hotel/motels to the Redwoods and most importantly has plenty of room inside. The staff at the Alpin are very friendly and were only too happy to store my bike boxes and luggage after checking out. On both occasions they’ve invited me to use the bike wash and showers after my last day on the trails, on this trip it was greatly appreciated!
I used the South Star Shuttles a great deal on this trip; however there were some changes from my last trip. They no longer do a weekend 1:00pm pickup from Waipa, however the ride from the 8 Mile Carpark to the Shuttle Pickup is almost flat and only took 5 mins or so to ride.
On this trip I did a number of the afternoon shuttle sessions. There’s no mucking around on the afternoon sessions as most of the riders are locals getting in an after work ride. I’m told they only tend to get 4 shuttle runs in the evening so you don’t want to miss one. Make sure you get to the Waipa Carpark half an hour before the shuttle is due to depart as the trailer can fill up. The locals turn up at Waipa load up their bikes then drive to the 8 Mile Gate before getting on the shuttle, that way the bikes definitely get on the trailer and when they’re done on the mountain they don’t have to ride all the way back to Waipa. Not that the ride back to Waipa is bad, I found it was a great post ride recovery.
The new Rotorua Trailmapps App from the Apple App Store or Google Play App store is outstanding and a must have. Unfortunately other printed maps are out of date as of November 2014 including the ones found on the trails.
There is a new toilet block, showers and bike wash at the Waipa Carpark. The bike wash is not at the bike hire it is down toward the Pohaturoa Rd gate. Oh .. there were a number of ex-hire bikes for sale at ridiculously cheap prices at Mountain Bike Rotorua.
In the town centre there are a truck load of really friendly bike shops all within a couple of blocks of each other. It's definitely worth a walk around on any rest days.
Need to know more?
Please don’t hesitate to contact me about riding in the Redwoods, I would be only too happy to send through some really great loops based on your skill level and the types of trails you ride not to mention any tips on travelling to or staying in Rotorua.
Favourite Trails (in no particular order)
Descending trails - Corners, Te Tihi-O-Tawa & Billy T, Split Enz, Underbilly & Billy T, Eagle vs Shark, Tokorangi,Be Rude Not To 2
XC Trails – Old Chevy, Yellow Brick Road, Pondy New, Dragons Tail, Mad If You Don't, Creek, Dipper
Outstanding Beginner Flow Trail – Dipper
Need to change my underwear trail – Hot X Buns
Must do experiences
- Shuttle and Corners
- Climb Katore Rd and descend Tokorangi
- Shuttle to Eagle vs Shark, then Redtank Rd / Pipeline Rd to Be Rude Not To 2 and finish with Mad If You Don't
- Shuttle then climb up Tawa Rd to Te Tihi-O-Tawa & Billy T, then climb Moerangi and Loop Rds to Split Enz, descend Pondy DH to Pondy New, XC through to Roller Coaster and back via Reservoir Rd (or Old Chevy if you have the legs)
MTB-TV'S ROTORUA REDWOODS FEATURE VIDEOS
Trail Centres and Trails featured in this blog