WHAKA WEEKLY 🌲29 October 2026

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Kia ora whānau!!

What. A. Weekend.

The forest is quiet again. The tape's down, the arches are gone, the Waipā carpark is back to being a carpark. But if you stand still on the singletrack for long enough you can still hear it. The cowbells. The yelling. The "GO ON, YOU'VE GOT THIS" from someone's nana in a camp chair.

Whaka100 2026 is done. And it was something special.

WHAKA100 — THANK YOU 🚵‍♀️🔔

To every single rider who lined up at Waipā last weekend — from the little legends on the kids' 5km to the absolute weapons who took on the miler — thank you.

Thank you for coming to Rotorua. Thank you for riding the forest the way it's meant to be ridden. Thank you for the high fives at the feed stations, the "cheers mate" as you passed the marshals, and for not swearing (too loudly) on the climbs.

And to everyone who added a donation to the trail fund when you entered — chur. That goes straight back into the dirt you were riding on.

Now.

Locals.

We need to talk about you. 👀

You turned UP. Camp chairs on the corners. Signs. Cowbells. Costumes. Whole families lining the descents screaming for riders they'd never met and will never see again. Kids handing out lollies. People who don't even ride, standing in the forest for hours, just because.

Riders came from all over the country and all over the world, and the thing they talked about at the finish wasn't the climbing or the mud or the time on the clock.

It was YOU.

Best cheer squad in the Southern Hemisphere. No contest. 🏆

This is what a mountain bike town looks like. Be proud of that.

THE BIG BLOW BEFORE THE BIG RIDE 🍃💨

What you didn't see was the week before.

The RTT crew spent the whole lead-up to Whaka100 blowing the network clean — trail after trail after trail, so every rider got the forest at its best. Leaf litter off, drains flowing, lines clear.

Just a taste of what got the treatment:

Arepa (Alpha), Te Huinga, Be Rude Not To, Lion Trail, Tītokorangi, Apumoana and the Apumoana Extension, Bunny Jugs 1, Mahana, Te Pou Koropū and the Black House Loop, Forest Loop – Tūhua, Tank To Town, Soakhole Climb, As You Do, Katore Road Link, No Brains, Jeff's Link, Kung Fu Walrus, Te Ahi Manawa, Pondy Elevator… plus Roller Coaster, Billy T, Old Chevy, Box of Birds, Gunna Gotta, Taura, Tihi o Tawa, Dammit Janet and plenty more.

That's a LOT of leaf blower, but bang for buck it clears drails, debris, sticks and pine cones that would take hours to clear any other way. Tiss the future folks!🎧

THIS SATURDAY — ROTORUA ALL ABILITIES AMAZING RACE 🎃♿

The forest has another party this weekend, and EVERYONE is invited.

Parafed Bay of Plenty are hosting the Rotorua All Abilities Amazing Race along the Mokopuna tracks.

📅 Saturday 31 October

⏰ 10:30am – 1:30pm

📍Mokopuna tracks, Whakarewarewa Forest

🗺️ Choose a 1km or 2.9km course

It's a stamp-collecting adventure — cruise between activity stations at your own pace, have a go at everything, and hang out with whānau and friends. It's not a race against anyone. Nobody's timing you. It's about getting out in the forest and having fun.

And yes — it's Halloween. Costumes very much encouraged. 👻🎃

It's part of the Rotorua All Abilities Adventures programme — inclusive sport, recreation and play for disabled people, their whānau and friends.

Find all the details and register on the Parafed Bay of Plenty Facebook event: www.facebook.com/events/2164829587432817

If you're riding past the Redwoods end on Saturday morning, give everyone a wave and a cheer. You know how to do that now. 😉

WORKING BEE — MĀ TE WĀ EXIT 🛠️💚

Right. Who's keen to get their hands dirty?

This weekend's working bee is on the lower section of Mā Te Wā — the bit that's currently doing double duty as the exit for the DH trail.

Here's the story. The top of Mā Te Wā hasn't been rebuilt yet. But the lower section is open and getting plenty of traffic as a DH exit… and it hasn't had any real love since before the logging started.

It's tired. It needs us.

📅 Sunday 1st November

⏰ 8:45am

📍 Planet Bike

🧤 Bring gloves, water, sturdy shoes and a good attitude. Some Tools provided but BYO if ya have a fav trail tool.

No experience needed. If you can hold a rake, you're in, and if you are under 15 drag along an old person.

THE MAHI THIS WEEK 💚

Post-event recovery mode: ACTIVATED.

🍪 Tim Tams

First cab off the rank after the weekend — volunteers were out on Monday giving Tim Tams a post-event tidy. Straight back into it. Legends.

🚜 Be Rude Not To

The big one this week. The RTT crew spent two solid days on Be Rude Not To with the digger and hand tools, reshaping and building a quick little link out onto Wash Road. Why?! well...later this year the tail of the trail is getting logged, and this esit will allow the trail to reopen on weekends. Yay!

🌿 Forest Loop – Te Kōtukutuku (and the Extension)

Spring is here and the bush is GROWING. Multiple days of vegetation clearing on Te Kōtukutuku and the Extension to keep the Forest Loop wide, friendly and family-ready. Spring growth doesn't stand a chance with our mate Truck out there on the tools! Epic effort buddy!

🌲 Trees down

String Road, Rockdrop, Sandy Skid Road and Te Ahi Manawa all had trees cleared this week. Spring winds, you're not welcome, but we will clean up after ya mess!

💨 The Big Post-Event Blow

Back on the blowers after the weekend: Creek, Tahi, Dipper, Kid's Loop.

🧑‍🌾 Adopter shout-outs

Big thanks to the Challenge DH adopter for surface repairs — including rebuilding the landing on the step-up — and to the Kataore adopter for knocking back the vegetation, and of course the Brains Trust for everything you do out there. Trail adopters are the heart of this forest. Aroha nui.

What a fortnight.

Thousands of riders. A cheer squad for the ages. A forest blown clean, ridden hard, and already being put back together.

None of it happens without you. The landowners who gift us this forest. The volunteers who show up. The adopters who look after their own patch. The riders who say thanks. And the people who chip in so the crew can keep the trails running.

If Whaka100 reminded you how lucky we are to have this on our doorstep — this is your nudge.

www.rotoruatrailstrust.co.nz 3 clicks. Any amount.

It goes straight back into the forest you love. 🌲

Aroha nui, – The crew at Rotorua Trails Trust 🌲