WHAKA WEEKLY 🌲 2 April 2026

Kia ora whānau!

Can you believe it — perfect weather lined up for the long weekend!!!!!

Thanks NEVER happens!!! Absolute gift. Dry trails, blue skies, and the forest is humming. If you’re not already planning a visit to Rotorua this weekend… you probably should be!! Rotorua is the place to be right now, dont miss this classic "Last of the summer" weekend.

No events this week — just you, your mates, and the best trail network in the country doing its thing.

⚠️ BEST TRAILS TO RIDE⚠️

Basically everything coming off the shuttles is awesome,and the lower grade tracks around Waipa Carpark. Hidden gem: park over a Tawa cos there is the cafe open, Apumoana to ride up to all the good trails and Whaki to right back to your car. There is something for everyone!

GRADE 2-3

Dipper, Tahi, Creek, Titokorangi, Out of Office, Te Poaka, The Entire Forest Loop of course!!!

Grade 4

Gunna Gotta, Hot X Buns, Te Mounga, No Brains and Tim Tams

Grade 5

Heckle and Ride, Yeet Street, Tumeke, K2

Jumps Track

Skywalker (you'll find this next to Double Down)

Big thanks to @photography_bysavanna for the amazing photos and the lads who built the trail and are the riders in the pictures: RTT Trail Builder Casey king and @beartracksandtrails Scott Taylor.

⚠️ TRAIL CLOSURES & NOTICES ⚠️

A few new ones folks. The logging has prevented us getting in there to do maintenance on some trails, so we have closed these trails for safety. Once we get access, they should be back and running again!

Closed: Eagle vs Shark, Te Rua, Black House Down, Storm Trooper, Ball and Chain, Puarenga and maybe Larch Road.

Also — night works are underway in parts of the forest. If you’re out early or late, lights on and eyes up. Check the maps before you head out if you are not keen on sharing a road with a logging truck!

🚵 THE MAHI THIS WEEK

A proper nuts-and-bolts week: Nothing flashy — just the kind of work that makes everything ride better without you really noticing why.

💨 HOMEWARD BOUND – Blowing & Drains

Some awesome work from the trail adopter— clearing the line and sorting the drains in one hit. It’s flowing the way it should again, which is exactly what you want when you’re heading… well, homeward bound!

💨 CORNERS – RADIUS OF THE LOST ARCS – Blowing & Surface Repairs

Quick blow from the crew and some follow-up surface work from the adopter. This trail has been getting chipped away at over time and it shows — smooth, predictable, and properly satisfying corner after corner. Def worth a lap!

🌳 TREE CLEARING – MULTIPLE TRAILS

Rockdrop, Roller Coaster, Forest Loop (Te Kōtukutuku), and Chestnut Road all cleared this week. Big bits of tree moved off trails so you can keep riding without thinking about it.

🐝 TIM TAMS – Working Bee

32 volunteer hours.

That’s not a typo — that’s a full day of people choosing to give up their time to make a trail better for everyone else. And it shows. Tim Tams has had a proper tickle-up and it’s riding mint. Massive thanks to everyone who showed up — this is what community looks like!

💨 MOKOPUNA & THE WAITAWA WALKING TRACK – Blowing

A solid session here from the trail crew, multiple blowers getting every nook and cranny of the Redwoods area and the Waitawa Walking Track. Hope you all love walking round this incredibly beautiful forest as much as i do!

💧 QUARRY LOOKOUT (GREEN) – Drains & Stair Repairs

Big, heavy days out here — multiple sessions on drains and surface work to really reset this track.The trail crew brok themselves carrying bucket after bucket of gravel up there to fill in some of the steps to make them good again. It was incredibly tough work, and the results are fantastic. Thanks so much to the lads for being so strong and fit, you are epic!! Hope you enjoy a well deserved rest this weekend!

🌿 PIG & PIGLET TRACKS – Vegetation (Adopter)

Short and sharp sessions from the adopter keeping Pig and Piglet tracks from closing in. It’s easy to overlook this kind of work, but it’s what keeps trails rideable month after month. Chur to the adopter!

💨 DIPPER, KIDS LOOP & TAHI – Blowing

A quick refreshing blow on these awesome family trails ready for the holidays! Clear trails, good lines, no surprises — exactly what you want here.

💨 HECKLE AND RIDE – Blowing

Every trail is better when it has been blown. The lines are clear and visible, the grip is way way better and everything runs faster. Enjoy!

💧 K2 – Drains (Adopter)

Quick hit from the adopter on K2 sorting drainage. Quiet work, big impact — especially heading into wetter months.

💚 CALL TO ACTION

If you get out there this weekend — and you should — take a second to notice how good things are riding. That doesn’t happen without a lot of time, money and hard mahi.

If you’ve been meaning to support the trails, now’s a good time. Not because things are broken — but because they’re working.

👉 www.rotoruatrailstrust.co.nz

Enjoy the long weekend. Respect the closures, watch for night works, and make the most of what is shaping up to be an unreal few days in the forest!

Aroha nui,

– The crew at Rotorua Trails Trust 🌲