WHAKA WEEKLY 🌲 9 October 2026

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Kia ora whānau!!

fingers absolutely flying on the keyboard this week because there is SO much good stuff to share. strap in, get a coffee, and let's celebrate the absolute state of this place right now 🔥

🏆 SECONDARY SCHOOL DH RACE – WELCOME HOME

this. this right here. this is why we do all of it.

hundreds of groms absolutely sending it on Taniwha DH this weekend at the secondary school DH race – and none of it would have been possible without an extraordinary amount of work from an extraordinary group of people.

Big ups to Logan for the bigg digga work and The Descend Rotorua crew for the hand built goodness and the Rotorua MTB Club for all the support. I dont want to name drop, cos this is not about glory hunting for them, but there were even some Pro mountain bikers getting off the bike and picking up tools. Legends, all of them. You have literally built the future of mountain biking. This is where you grew up, and you have now set it up for the next generation. I could not be prouder.

this is the future of the sport. finally back where it belongs – in the Whakarewarewa Forest. welcome home. it's awesome to have you 🙌

to every grom out there this weekend – we see future pros in your midst. ride often, ride everything, and don't be surprised when the drops get bigger over time and you don't even notice. that's the magic of riding a trail as it evolves. the best thing you can do? keep coming back. shuttles are running 7 days a week (massive chur to MTB Rotorua crew and all the legendary shuttle drivers!) so there is absolutely zero excuse not to make this your summer training ground. love it 🚵

🏔️ LEGENDS ENDURO – ROUND ONE THIS WEEKEND!

not just the home of DH riding – the Whaka is also the spiritual home of Enduro and this weekend it all kicks off with Legends Enduro Round One on the other side of the forest.

featuring some of the best trails in the whole network – honestly some personal all-time favourites, hello Gunna Gotta! – this event has something for everyone. just getting into events? perfect entry point. training for internationals? perfect season opener.

get amongst it 👉 www.enduronz.com/eventinfo

and remember folks, all trails are open during the events, but be a good un and give the competitors the right of way eh! Dont pull down trail tape, its blimmin hard work getting it all setup eh!

🌲 SUMMER EVENTS SEASON IS HERE – GET YOUR CALENDARS OUT

from here on out the forest is absolutely stacked with events all summer long and it is going to be an incredible season:

🚶 Aramex Trek the Forest – a gorgeous walk/run event through the forest for all abilities 👉 kiwiwalkrun.co.nz/event/trek-the-forest

🚵 WHAKA 100 – the big one. the one people have been training all year for. the event organisers have been out tickling up trails over the weekend to make sure everything is in perfect condition (legends!) – though we can confirm they have NOT knocked any elevation off the climbs. sorry about that. keep training 😂

entries are selling fast and there are only two weeks left to get to Rotorua for practice and training runs. you've got this team 👉 www.whaka100.co.nz

and as always – when events come through, be a good forest guest. give the racers the right of way, cheer them on loud, and if a trail is busy, duck onto another one for a bit. the stoke of a stranger yelling encouragement mid-race is something else 🙌

🚿 DUAL SLALOM TRACK – BIG LOVE FROM LOCAL BUSINESS

massive shout out this week to RNL Quarry (rnlquarryrotorua.co.nz) who delivered a very generous golden gift to the Dual Slalom Track project. keeping a long pump track in great shape when it's built from dirt is a serious ongoing mission, and trail adopter Max has been doing an absolutely incredible job ever since he took it on.

the RTT build crew have stepped in to help Max reshape and restore the track – it's a big job, and honestly, we wont get the whole lot done in one go, but with the support of Max, RNL Quarry, and trail sponsor Build Co – it's happening. keeping dirt pump tracks world class takes this kind of community and business support and we are so grateful 💚

🛠️ CHALLENGE DH – PRO TIPS AND GOOD VIBES

trail adopter AJ was joined this week by one of the RTT build crew who volunteered their weekend to head out and share some professional trail building knowledge on the tools.

the result speaks for itself. that's one of the best things about this place – you get to meet genuinely talented people who have full-on day jobs but choose to spend their days off giving back to the community. and then you get to go ride the trail they built together and feel the difference.

huge chur to the RTT crew member adn the AJ for volunteering their weekend. epic mahi from both of them 🙏

🌿 TĪTOKORANGI PART 2 WORKING BEE

this is what it is all about.

showing up on your day off. clearing vegetation. repairing trail surface. doing the hard stuff nobody really wants to do. giving back to the trails. giving back to riders you've never met and will probably never meet – who will ride through one day and think "this trail is amazing" without ever knowing someone sacrificed their Sunday to make it that way.

that's community. that's love. that's exactly what makes this place different.

chur to every single person who came along. there were a lot of ya. legends, the lot 💚

🌬️ WHĀKI, LINK TRAILS & LENTIL LINK – ADOPTER DOES THE THING

the Whāki adopter got out and gave the full trail a blow, plus the link trails and Lentil Link. perfectly timed with school holidays kicking off. fresh, clear, fast, and ready for all the extra riders about to pile in.

chur to the adopter. you absolute legend. this is the stuff 🤙

🌅 TO CLOSE – A NOTE

what a place this is.

built on foundations laid by people who worked incredibly hard and never got thanked enough. kept alive by adopters, volunteers, donors, businesses, riders, walkers, runners, families, and strangers who just turned up one day and decided to give something back.

get out there this weekend. be kind to everyone you meet. let the forest do its thing. let your problems melt away in the trees. look after the future generations by looking after what we have right now.

cheers to you. cheers to tomorrow. and cheers to everyone in the past who built this place from nothing 🙏

aroha nui, – the crew at rotorua trails trust 🌲

👉 www.rotoruatrailstrust.co.nz See less