WHAKA WEEKLY 🌲23 April 2026

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. we have been on the same trails multiple times. same debris. different week. it's giving sisyphus vibes hard.

So this weekend? we need you to step UP besties 🤙

🌟 THE BIG ASK – TRAIL GUARDIAN ERA 🌟

thousands of you are about to descend on the whaka this weekend and while the trails are giving their best there are still pine cones and sticks out there and we are NOT going to gatekeep that information from you.

so here's the thing. it's free to ride here. this takes three seconds. it's so low effort it's unhinged that we even have to ask.

first lap? see debris? pick it up. throw it in the bush. periodt.

that's it. that's the whole ted talk.

if every single one of you does that? mint trails by mid morning no cap. the collective power of this community is actually unmatched fr fr.

if we all just ride over it and leave it? the crew spends another whole week on debris instead of building berms and fixing bumps and doing the fun stuff. and that's not the vibe. that's NOT the vibe.

pick it up. chuck it in the bush. be a real one. 🌿

💚 TO EVERYONE WHO DONATED – YOU ATE AND LEFT NO CRUMBS

okay we're going to be so for real with you right now.

donations came in this week from $5 to $500 and we are EMOTIONAL about it. every single one went straight back into the forest. no funny business just straight to the trails.

we are a smol charitable trust doing a massive job on a budget that is "ambitious" at best and every donation makes us feel so seen and so grateful it's actually unreal.

if you donated this week – we see you. we feel you. we love you. you are literally the main character of this forest. 🙏

and if you've been thinking about it? the forest is RIGHT THERE. it needs you. please give it (and us) some love.

👉 www.rotoruatrailstrust.co.nz – 3 clicks. slay.

🌳 THE TREE CLEARING ERA (it's been a whole thing) 🪚

okay so. trees. SO many trees. the network has been eating L after L from falling timber and the crew has just been out there daily in their villain era chainsawing their way through the vibes. here's the hit list of trails that got tree cleared recently and it's giving us the "we need a bigger budget" vibe big time:

Split Enz 🎸 Dragon's Tail 🐉 Fern Drive Lookout Road Pipeline Road Ovata Road Moerangi Road 🛣️ Ultra Rosa 🌹 Time Warp ⏰ No Brains 🧠 As You Do Chop Suey Homeward Bound 🌀🥢🏠 Hot X Buns 🍞 Apumoana 🌿 Te Ruru 🌳 Corridor Rebuild 🏗️ Forest Loop – Tangaroa-mihi Te Pikitanga Whangapipiro Grinder Lake Tikitapu Bunny Jugs Minerals Boulderdash Te Ara ki Tumunui Tarawera Trail Te Kōtukutuku Box of Birds Challenge Roadside Corridor Top Jumps Mad If You Don't……

.....that's basically the whole map. any time a tree falls in this forest it's landing on a trail and that's just the lore of having this many trails. unhinged behaviour from the pine trees but we love them anyway 🌲

💧 DIPPER – THE DRAIN ARC

dipper got its whole drain situation completely reset this week. multiple visits. the crew was not letting this one slide. if dipper is riding well this weekend that's from the trail team and you should acknowledge it 🫡

🐝 TUMEKE WORKING BEE – THE COLLAB WE DIDN'T KNOW WE NEEDED

okay so the TUNED ROTORUA (www.tunedrotorua.co.nz) crew came through this week and it was actually so fire. we're talking up and coming AND already arrived DH legends doing a full three day training arc – track walks, qualifying, gym sessions, race runs, the whole cinematic universe.

and then on the final day? they came out and did trail mahi with the RTT Pro Trail crew. the crossover episode we deserved.

also PSA for the DH bros – steep brakes-on fall line tracks are not the only way to slay. slow, techy, rooty, fast traversing trails? THAT'S the lore. rotorua is literally the training ground for new zealand's best riders and this is exactly why. we love it here 🚵‍♂️

🚨 TRAIL CLOSURE – LOWER NO BRAINS

okay not to be a buzzkill but lower no brains is CLOSED and we need you to respect it no exceptions. big slip. actual hazard. barrier is there for a reason.

you CAN still access from the top and take the Tim Tams line but the lower line back to Taura? closed. do not pass the barrier. it is not called an "adventure" it is called being "dumb" and we need you to read the room. Closed is closed.

no reopening date yet. ground needs to stabilise. we'll keep you posted. respect the closure 🙏

🏔️ WHĀKI GRADE 3 – the glow up that got immediately ratio'd

whāki got the FULL treatment this week – blowing, drains, veg, surface repairs, two whole sessions of love – and then literally last night a massive slip came down on it. we are not okay. the trail said "no thanks" and we are choosing to not take it personally.

it's closed until we can get in there and sort it. hoping the volunteer crew can work their magic this weekend. fingers crossed everyone 🤞

🎸🚿 TICKLER & THE WASH

both got blowing and drains on tuesday. tickler then immediately got smashed by big winds and now looks like we never touched it. the audacity. truly. oh well – that's nature being nature and we simply have to respect the chaos 😭

🌲 FOREST LOOP – the ongoing saga

te ara ki waipā 2, 3, 4 AND 5. feeder DH section. tūhua. all getting blown and drained consistently. site inspection on tūhua to figure out what's next. the forest loop is enormous and the crew is giving it everything. it's not unnoticed we promise 💚

🚶‍♀️ POHATUROA YELLOW TRACK

got a big blow on monday. autumn walk on this trail right now is genuinely immaculate. go touch grass. literally. the good kind 🍂

🚗 OLD CHEVY – adopter did a thing

out on saturday. blew it. left. legend behaviour. chur 🤙

🐷 PIG TRACK – the adopter dropped a bop

"POV: Pig Track…

Why does it always rain on me?

At least my adopter comes to check on me about one day in every seventeen.

Why does it always rain on me?

But when the sun is shining he's out clearing debris and checking the drains aren't frightening"

pig track said it's giving Travis moment and honestly? we respect it. you love pig, pig loves you mr adopter 💚

💨 GUNNA GOTTA

got a blow. go ride it. we're not gunna do a whole paragraph cos we dont gotta.

💚 THE HONEST ERA

it's a lot. not going to gaslight you. the storms have been relentless and the mahi never stops and some days it feels like we're running to stand still.

but then a working bee happens. an adopter shows up on a rainy saturday. someone donates $5 from the other side of the world because they rode here once and never forgot it. and suddenly it all feels worth it again.

rotorua trails trust is underfunded for the scale of what we do and storm season has made that very clear. but we don't stop. we won't stop. the forest deserves it and so do you.

be a trail guardian this weekend. pick up the debris. and if you can, throw us a few dollars so we can keep doing the fun stuff instead of just cleaning up after the weather.

👉 www.rotoruatrailstrust.co.nz – 3 clicks. slay.

see you out there. pick up trail trash. ride mint trails. be a real one.

aroha nui,

– the crew at rotorua trails trust 🌲