🌟🚵 WHAKA WEEKLY 🚵🌟
- Tony Knauf
- 6 days ago
- 4 min read
8 January 2026
WELCOME TO 2026! What a way to kick off the new year, this weather is off the hook! GET HERE NOOOOW!!!
The weather is all time summer, trails are mint and its nice a cool in the forest. Honest, it does not get better than this eh!
🎉 MASSIVE SHOUT-OUTS!
Before we dive into the trail work, we need to give some serious credit where it's due!
🚴 MOUNTAIN BIKE ROTORUA - THE UNSUNG HEROES
Can we just take a moment to recognise the INCREDIBLE work Mountain Bike Rotorua has done over the Christmas/New Year break?! These legends have been absolutely CRUSHING IT:
✨ Clearing trails of debris ✨ Trimming up Hemo Gorge to keep it accessible ✨ Find lost dogs, keys and cell phones and reuniting their with their owners ✨ Taking down trail signs before they got buried by the logging crews (talk about thinking ahead!) ✨ Just generally being fantastic folks making sure everyone had a brilliant time in the forest.
Oh, and of course, doing a TON and shuttle laps! Noice!
MBR, you're the real MVPs! The forest wouldn't be the same without your dedication and passion! 🙌 Make sure to thank the shuttle drivers if ya see them out and about!
🦸 VOLUNTEER LEGENDS
And speaking of legends – wow did the volunteers show up over the summer break! No surprise, these are the same folk who won the "Above and Beyond" and "Trail Adopter of the Year" awards last year! When trees came down, they grabbed their gear and got to work.
Honestly, these folks did 3 solid days worth of tree clearing during the holidays!
When most people were relaxing with family, they were out there making sure the forest stayed accessible! LEGENDS OF THE FOREST! 🌟
📱 TRAIL REPORTS - KEEP THEM COMING!
And a HUGE thank you to everyone sending in trail reports! Whether it's trees down or trails getting overgrown, every single report helps us prioritise and respond quickly.
The massive amount of reports we've been getting shows just how much this community cares about the forest. Keeping the forest amazing is def a team game eh!
🧠 No Brains
Christmas did not slow the Brains Trust down at all! EIGHT hours of surface repairs on Christmas Eve (Wednesday 24th December)!
CHRISTMAS EVE, people! While most of us were wrapping presents and prepping dinner, these hardy folks were out there working on trail features! This is the kind of dedication that makes us speechless! Thanks for the Christmas present team! 🪨🎄
😜 Mad If You Don't
TWELVE hours of volunteer working bee on Saturday 27th December! FOUR hours each on blowing, tree clearing, and general working bee tasks to get the trail opened up again.
We wont talk about it being closed again with the road lining….it was amazing to have it open over the Christmas Break!
Thanks heaps team, we all greatly appreciate the dedication you lot put into the entire forest.Massive respect! 🙌
📊 BY THE NUMBERS
💪 83 hours of trail work 💰 $4,800 value delivered to the forest 🙌 more than 31 hours from incredible volunteers during the holidays! 🌟 8 hours from the No Brains adopters on Christmas Eve! 👷 49 hours from RTT crew through the holidays skeleton crew keeping things moving through the break.
Task breakdown:
32 hours tree clearing (summer storms response!)
12 hours digger work and hand building
12 hours Mad If You Don't working bee
10 hours signage repairs/replacing/management
8 hours No Brains surface repairs
8 hours vegetation work
6 hours blowing
🎊 STARTING 2026 STRONG
What a way to kick off the new year! The Rotorua Trails Trust Website has processed $3700 of donations so far this year!!! That's crazy! Thats all from awesome individaul make the intential choise to give back and say thanks!
If we can keep up that for the rest of the year, we will be golden for trail maintenace AND trail refreshes will be on the cards. Dream!
Remember, every year, the funding tally gets reset to zero becuase the forest needs are the same, year in year out.
And what does the forest need?
$2 per meter per year to keep the trails mint. 300km of trails, you can do the math!
So please folks, help pitch in. Set up a reoccurring $10 monthly donation, half the price of Netflix and WAY better for you! Just do it?!
💚 KEEP THE MOMENTUM GOING 2025 was epic. 2026 is going to be EVEN BETTER!
🤝 Want to be part of it? Donate or become a member at
Your support funds everything from emergency tree clearing to refreshing trails to keeping the trails you love in premium condition!
And please – keep those trail reports coming! Whether it's a tree down, overgrown vegetation, or just something that needs attention – report it! You're helping us prioritize and respond faster!
Remember: 0800 WHAKA1 for any emergencies in the forest!
See you out there! 🚵♂️❤️
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