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Kia ora whānau!! Spring is being very spring like, deliverying summer vibes one day, heavy rain the next, lucky for us we love it all! The Secondary School DH Race is in the rear view. Aramex Trek the Forest THIS WEEKEND. And the Whaka 100 – eight sleeps away. Let's get into it 🤙 🏆 SECONDARY SCHOOL DH RACE – WHAT A DAY!! 🏆 Last weekend's Secondary School DH Race on Taniwha DH was something really, really special. The vibe out there was electric....and dusty....very very du

Kia ora whānau!! fingers absolutely flying on the keyboard this week because there is SO much good stuff to share. strap in, get a coffee, and let's celebrate the absolute state of this place right now 🔥 🏆 SECONDARY SCHOOL DH RACE – WELCOME HOME this. this right here. this is why we do all of it. hundreds of groms absolutely sending it on Taniwha DH this weekend at the secondary school DH race – and none of it would have been possible without an extraordinary amount of work

Kia ora whānau!! 🌿 TANGAROA-MIHI – WELCOME BACK FRIEND ya wouldnt believe the joy i felt in my belly when i saw a fresh report on trailforks of work done by the long lost Tangaroa-mihi trail adopter! One of my favorite folks, back at it, back out in their happy place: the native bush, looking after trails, in the company of their trail pup. welcome back friend. the trail missed you. so did we 🐾🌿 🚀 CHALLENGE DH – TABLETOP MAGIC woooweeee look at that eh, the Challenge DH t

Kia ora whānau!! no big events in the forest this weekend – just the trails, the trees, and whoever shows up for the love of it. that's 100% gunna be me and my mates, see ya out there! (or maybe not, this place is so big ya just kinda melt into it eh!) 🌲 ⚠️ WEATHER HEADS UP – ESCAPE TO ROTO!! classic spring eh, but not here in Roto, so if your neck of the woods is looking a bit dodgy, come play here, she's looking pretty sound! 🎉 CORRIDOR JUMPS – THE FEEDBACK HAS BEEN INCR

Kia ora whānau!! feels like summer snuck in early, the sun is out, the trails are firm and fast, and the forest is just buzzing with incredible energy. unfortunately......the weekend is looking a bit gnarly. ahhh well we love it anyway 🌧️ ⚠️ WEATHER HEADS UP the forecast for this weekend is wind and rain incoming and in a forest full of trees – well lets just say if you are heading out this weekend, make the first lap a cautious one. keep your eyes and ears open. and if the

Kia ora whānau!! what. a. long weekend. the drone show. the muddy fun runs. the hikers with the weighted packs going hard. the trail runners absolutely flying through the forest. the horse riders clip-clopping along in the early morning mist. and the mountain bikers – oh the mountain bikers – all over the trails from first light till last. Rotorua was absolutely buzzing and if you were part of it – welcome, thank you, and we hope you are already planning the next trip back 💚

Kia ora whānau!! another week of community legends quietly making the forest better while the rest of us are cosy inside throwing another log on the fire. adopters, volunteers, the No Brains crew doing what the No Brains crew does – showing up when nobody asked them to and leaving trails better than they found them. let's get into it 👇 🏁 DUAL SLALOM TRACK – GETTING WIDER AND WILDER the Dual Slalom Track adopter is a legend and the trail got some love this week with work on

Due very high winds and rain, there’s a strong likelihood of fallen trees, large branches, and debris across trails. 🚴‍♂️🚶‍♀️ Please use extra caution when riding or walking in the forest. If you come across a downed tree or large obstacle, help us respond faster by reporting it with: 📍 A precise location screenshot (pin drop) + trail name + approx. distance into the trail) 📸 A photo if possible — or a size estimate (e.g. 10cm diameter) so we know what size chainsaw to br

Kia ora whānau!! shortest day has been and gone, we are officially on the way back to summer, and the forest is absolutely in its element right now. crispy mornings, clear trails, and behind the scenes....well lets just say alot has been going on and its been intense. 🔄 CORNERS – RADIUS OF THE LOST ARCS – WORKING BEE GLOW UP ✨ Sunday. volunteers. Corners. blowing, surface repairs, hand build work, the lot. the kind of session where you turn up at 9am and suddenly its getting

another week of bluebird winter magic (ignore the showers) in the Whaka and before we get into the mahi, we just want to say something we don't say nearly enough. this forest is something pretty special. not because of any one thing – its the sum of all the parts eh, the trails, the trees, the birds and the dirt, the people and the moments. the kid on the balance bike having the time of their life. the adaptive MTB rider absolutely sending it. it's all the dogs and their owne

WHAKA WEEKLY 🌲 28 May 2026 right. big week. strap in 👇 Eagle vs Shark lower is rideable. Black House Down is back. three trail rebuilds are being actively scoped right now. Challange Roadside is looking fire. and THIS Sunday the Highlander is on and it is going to be an absolute cracker. let's get into it 🌲 🏔️ HIGHLANDER MTB CHALLENGE – THIS SUNDAY 31ST MAY 🔥 the Highlander is one of those events that gets people out of bed before sunrise in the middle of winter to train

Kia ora whānau!! what a week!🌲☀️ the trails are going OFF right now, the RTT crew have been absolutely flat out, the volunteers have shown up in the most extraordinary way, and we have a collaboration story this week that is genuinely one of our favourite things we've ever been part of. also there's a poem. obviously. let's get into it 👇 🌙 MOONRIDE – THAT WAS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE first things first – a massive CONGRATULATIONS to every single person who rode the Cateye Moo

The usual Whaka Weekly writer is on holiday, so we got the intern to give it a bash. Enjoy. no cap mother nature has been in its villain era give us harsh main character energy and we are NOT okay 😭🌧️ the storms said "let me cook" and absolutely cooked us. cooked the trails. cooked the crew. just straight up chaos behaviour from mother nature and she is NOT taking accountability for it. every time we slay the trail clean up she comes back and undoes it like girl PLEASE. w

Kia ora, The Lower No Brains mountain bike trail is currently closed due to a significant slip that presents a potential hazard. Riders can still access the trail from the top and take the Tim Tams line, but the Lower No Brains line that takes you back to Taura is Closed. Do not proceed past the barrier, it is there for your safety. The trail will stay closed until the ground has fully stabilised and it is confirmed safe to reopen. This will involve assessment and guidance fr

Okay so the weather has been absolutely COOKED this week. Like, biblical. Wind, rain, more wind, a bit of sideways rain for variety, and then some more wind just to keep things interesting. The kind of week where you look outside and think "yeah nah" and go back to bed. BUT. Here's the thing. The trails? Somehow still going off. And that is NOT an accident. That is the result of an army of incredible humans – the RTT crew, trail adopters, and volunteers – who have been loggin

As a precaution the Whakarewarewa Forest will be closed to the public tomorrow (Sunday 12 April). The closure includes access to Titokorangi / Redwoods, Whakarewarewa, Te Pūtake o Tawa and Waipa. With Cyclone Vaiana heading our way, @MetService has issued a Strong Wind and Heavy Rain watch for Rotorua for all of tomorrow, with wind gusts expected to exceed 110km/h. Forest access is generally considered unsafe in winds above 60km/h due to the increased risk of falling trees an

Kia ora whānau! Happy post-Easter! Hope you all had an amazing break, got out into the forest, ate too much chocolate, and made some beautiful memories with your people. We certainly hope the trails played their part 🍫🌲 Now – before we dive into all the mahi the crew got stuck into this week, we've got two exciting things and one important safety message to get through. Read to the end on this one, it matters. 🏊🚵🏃 XTERRA ROTORUA FESTIVAL – THIS SATURDAY 11TH APRIL! 🔥 I