Whaka Weekly

Kia ora whānau! What a week to be alive and living in Rotorua!! The weather is absolutely cracking – not too hot, beautifully crisp mornings, and the kind of late summer air that makes you want to be outside every spare second you have. The trails are in fantastic shape and the forest is buzzing – and I mean BUZZING – because Crankworx is HERE!!! Oh, and before we get into all of it – huge shout out to a very special birthday this week. Happy 95th birthday to a legend, my Gra

Kia ora whānau! The sun is OUT, the mud is packing down nicely, and the forest is absolutely humming after last week's biblical soaking. If you've been waiting for the trails to come right – your time is NOW. Get out there this week because the dirt is firming up beautifully and it's going to be absolutely mint. This week has been a big one – and I mean BIG. Sure we did alot of the fundamentals of drains and vege trims (although there's plenty of that too). Thanks to all the

Kia ora whānau! What a week it's been! The sky has absolutely opened up on us, and the forest (thanks to year round blowing and drains work, not because we somehow "got lucky") bounced back amazingly well! TARAWERA ULTRA-TRAIL BY UTMB – WHAT AN EVENT!! 🏃‍♂️💦🔥 Right, we have to start here because WOW. What an absolutely incredible weekend. The world-famous Tarawera Ultra-Trail by UTMB came to our backyard and it basically turned into the most epic Tough Mudder you've ever s

Yeeewwww what an ABSOLUTE BELTER of a week it's been out there! The trails are running sweet as, the weather's been mint (cept for the hail bomb on Wednesday!), and the crews have been flat-out making sure you lot have the best riding and walking experience possible! Seriously, if you haven't been out this week, you're missing out! The dirt is tacky, the forest is buzzing with life, and every corner of the Whaka is getting the love it deserves. Let's dive into the mahi that's

G'day legends! What an absolute RIPPER of a week it's been! The weather? Textbook Kiwi summer! Cicadas are deafening (in the best way), soil is damp and grippy, and the walking trails are all cool and shady. This is what dreams are made of, eh! And the trails? OH MATE. They're looking absolutely MINT right now – that perfect combo of tacky dirt and no dust! Yeah, we've got that awesome gold dirt, but we've also got the best adopters and trail crew in the country making sure e

G'day folks! Another week down in the forest and it has been a beaut with heaps of happy campers coming in to ride the new sections of the forest loop, check out the views of the loggin and in general get up to the best kind of mischief in the forest! Yeah, the weather's been super duper soggy this week, but luckily we're blessed with fast drying tracks here in Roto, so actually the rain has done the forest a service! The dust has disappeared, the dirts got tacky and all your

15 January 2026 What an EPIC fortnight in the forest! Over 349 hours of absolute graft, and we need to shine the spotlight on the legends who make this place what it is – the volunteers and trail adopters!  These are the people who don't get paid a cent but show up week after week, year after year, because they genuinely LOVE these trails. This place is run on hard mahi: 🦸 VOLUNTEER & ADOPTER HEROES Let's celebrate the incredible humans who poured their hearts into the fores

We’re super excited to see Out Of Office featured as Trail of the Month on Pinkbike! The Pinkbike and Trailforks article dives into what makes this trail special, from its hand-built, old-school feel to why simple, well-designed singletrack still delivers some of the most rewarding riding. A huge shoutout to everyone involved in bringing this trail to life. Check it out on Trailforks and read the full feature on Pinkbike below👇 https://www.pinkbike.com/news/trail-of-the-mont

18 December 2025 Well folks, this is it – the FINAL Whaka Weekly of 2025! What an absolutely INCREDIBLE year it's been! Before we dive into this week's work, let's take a moment to reflect on everything that made 2025 one of the best years on record for Rotorua trails. We weathered the SECOND BIGGEST storm season on record and cleared almost as many trees as the worst year ever (ya’ll know the one im thinking of!). We also had WAY more volunteer work than ever before, more re

Weather: Bit hot mate, cooler in the trees tho and swims in the lakes after are dreamy! Dirt: Fantastic and fasssssst Another cracking week in the forest with 137 hours of quality mahi from the RTT crew and the incredible adopters! With summer rolling in and the trails drying out, we're full steam ahead on building, refurbishing, keeping the vegetation under control, and keeping everything in premium condition ready for your summer holiday or staycation in Rotorua. Get out th

Another cracker of a week out in the forest! 🌞 The sun’s shining, the dust is rising, and the trails are buzzing with riders, runners, and crews hard at work keeping everything mint. From big working bees 🐝 to tidy-up missions and digger sessions 🚜, it’s all go! 🌤️ WEATHER & DIRT CHECK Summer’s knocking! ☀️ Warm, dry days have the dirt feeling fast and fun, with that early-summer tackiness hanging in. Mornings are perfect for digging, evenings perfect for riding — classic

🌤️ Weather and Dirt Oddly warm, not sure if im ready for summer yet….. Dirt is dry and any boggy bits are drying up, yeah nah im def ready for SUMMER!!! THIS WEEK'S TRAIL LOVE 💚 🌳 Tihi o Tawa Two hours of tree clearing keeping this beauty accessible, as much as we did enjoy the new log feature for a while…. 🏔️ Mini DH HUGE shout-out to the trail adopter who put in THREE hours on Tuesday and another TWO hours on Wednesday doing surface repairs! That's FIVE hours of love fr

🌤️ Weather and Dirt The season’s shifting gears, with temps warming up but the rain falling hard! The crew’s been flat-out sorting out the drains AND catching the vegetation growth BEFORE it goes absolutely crazy! The clock is ticking, the crazy vege and thistle season is rapidly approaching! THIS WEEK'S TRAIL LOVE 💚 🛠️ Dodzy’s Skills Park Surface repairs dialled in and looking mint! The trail adopter has been super busy making things smooth and safe means riders can progr

🌤️ Weather:  It’s got that “summer is coming!”  vibe — the sun’s out, the trails are drying fast, and those after-work rides are...

Celebrating Community, Celebrating Trails 🚴‍♀️ On 21 September, Rotorua's Velosolutions Pump Track was alive with energy as it hosted...

A huge shoutout to Mark Upshall, our incredible Operations Manager here at Rotorua Trails Trust! Mark sits in a truly essential role,...

🌤️ Weather: It’s warming up a bit and daylight savings = after work adventures are on! 🌱 Dirt: The team has been throwing round the...

🌤️ Weather: Yahoo! Sun's out, wind's taking a day off! ☀️😎 🌱 Dirt: On the ground, flicked up your back, in the tread of your boots -...

🌤️ Weather: Windy and wild with bursts of warm sunshine. 🌱 Dirt: love it 🚨 DH Track Update We’re super gutted the DH track copped...

🌤️ Weather: Lol — spring has sprung! Windy, raining, then suddenly warm and sunny. Typical Rotorua! 🌱 Dirt: Dry with some damp spots —...