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TAUPO MOUNTAIN BIKING - December 2001
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We took a trip with the Auckland Mountain Biking Club to Taupo and Rotorua
to do some mountain biking for four days. |
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Here's the map showing where Taupo and Rotorua is in relation to
Auckland.
We got the van all loaded up and ready to
go, complete with curtains to hide our precious bikes. |
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| Our first stop (as tourists) was at the
geothermal area just
outside of Taupo. Hot stuff! |
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Then to Huka Falls. |
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Whaihaha (Laughing
Waters) -
Day 1
Our first day out riding the trail was appropriately named Laughing
Waters. It rained hard the night prior. We were about two minutes into the trip when we realized the trail
was flooded from all the rain we had just had. The creek was in full flood
and the bridges, (What Bridges?) although on a chain or something to
keep them from being washing away, were submerged.
Knowing there were bridges there turned out to be a very important
piece of
information that not all of us were privy to.
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Roy attempting the balance act across the bridge.
You could always tell when there was a big water hole up ahead. You
could hear the "girls" laughter and heckling as people bailed or
came off.
As mentioned, the name Laughing Waters was very appropriate!
Especially this day. |
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Taking no chances this time.
I'm walking across. |
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Here Roy is crossing one of the bridges which is more like
crossing a teeter totter. Once you find the bridge under the water and
step on it, the end sinks down and the other end flips up. Then you have
to balance as you walk across as the bridge wants to tip in every
direction. Riding them is fun too.
Carol is actually standing on a bridge here. Unfortunately just prior
to this, and prior to having any knowledge about their being bridges, she
tried to ride around Rex who just seemed to be standing in the water
and blocking the trail. Little did she know that Rex was holding the
bridge down for her. As Carol tried to ride around Rex, her front wheel
went off the bridge, sunk out of sight, and she did a full "Swan
Dive" over the handle bars. Carol was in disbelief that there was no
bottom. She gave the club a demo on the "canuck stroke". |
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The trails got the best of everyone at some time, but Ian is still
smiling. |
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Skoda's off. |
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Paul's having a
push. |
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There's more than one way to get through! |
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Does this ever end? No
kayak. |
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George leading the
way. |
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One section of water had to be 50 metres long. Well okay,
maybe only 20 metres , but it seemed like 50. Or a hundred. This was the biggest source
of entertainment for everyone- to see how far the others could actually
ride across it. It was quite interesting as the water started out ankle
deep; was soon knee keep; and before we knew it our handle bars were
disappearing under water. Some of the shorter people were up to their arm
pits as they walked across. No snorkel! |
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It's a good thing there were
some bridges that allowed safe passage. |
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Michelle "Brownie" making
waves. |
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Jane giving the high five. |
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There were also some very stunning parts of the trail. It made for very
interesting riding as the trail snaked through the trees, and some of them
were huge. Very west-coastish with everything covered in moss and lichen. |
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The trail wasn't without it's technical sections either. We couldn't
capture too many of them on film though. Funny how that works. |
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Here's part of the crew at
the lookout.
Top: Jane, Gyro, Roy, Skoda, Rosie.
Bottom: Rex, Fenella, Brownie, Carol |
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George shows the others how to clean, lube,
and repair with a little help from the kitchen scrub brush. |
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Barney, Skoda and Rosie doing
the maintenance that cyclists do every day.
Almost like they knew what they were doing. |
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Kaimanawa Forest - Day 2
"Rain at 7, Fine by 11"
We got lucky with that motto on Day 1, but not this day. It
started to rain when we arrived at the parking lot and never quit. Just
varying degrees of intensity.
It almost seemed appropriate to start off with some creek crossings.
Why not get totally wet to start. Lizzy and Gyro are making their way
across the very slippery creek.
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HIKE-A-BIKE would have been a good name for this trail.
(Brought back memories of Nelson B.C.) Because it was so wet, and I mean
really wet and boggy, it made the climbing pretty tough. There were plenty
of rocks ledges and steps to be navigated, not to mention the 2 foot
troughs that had been worn away from rain. I happened to witness a couple
of people launch themselves over the bank while trying to ride some tricky
sections. For each step over the edge it means about 20 feet down. |
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I'd say Rex is pretty much wet thru at this point. |
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It was fairly difficult taking pictures in the pouring rain. Here Ian
and Roy are finding their way down to a small water fall and washed out
section of trail. We crossed by a few of these. Good entertainment
watching Skoda launch himself over the edge. Big points for trying. |
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Brownie and Fenella checking the view. |
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Tjebbe moments before launching himself. |
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Roy in the mist. Electric, man. |
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Group huddle at
lunch. |
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Ian and Jane seeking shelter. |
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Are we having fun yet, Rosie? |
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Paul and Roy
grabbing a bite to eat. |
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It was actually quite beautiful in the mist. We didn't make our final
destination as the creek was in full flood and there was still a river
ahead of us. So we headed back the way we came. |
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Back on the trail again. Although the day was wet and there was a lot
of hiking, carrying of bikes, and cursing, it was all made worthwhile with
the wicked descent. I think if I hadn't been so cold, wet and tired of
carrying my bike I would have walked down quite alot of the downhill as it
was quite difficult. But I said bugger it and just hung on for the ride.
Having no brakes didn't help things, but I sure got down quick. Excellent
finish to the day. |
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Roy and I had just been talking on the way home from the wet soggy ride
about how nice it would be to find an undeveloped hot tub to soak our
chilled bones in. The boys read our thoughts! We never dreamt there would be anything this
wonderful. |
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We loaded up with some cold beer.... |
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...and all had a
good soak in the river. The geothermal water spills into the
river so you can adjust the temperature by either moving closer
or further away from the source of hot water. |
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Craters of the Moon -
Day 3 "Rain at 7, Fine by 11"
Yes, it worked this time. It was pissin' in the morning, but by the time
we were organized to leave it had quit. Craters was just a wee way out of
Taupo and had a great network of trails. The trails are built in the
forest and are rideable until the trees mature and then that section is
logged. By then new trails have been built in a different area. It's kinda
like riding in a motor cross race track. Twisty trails that loop back
around so the back of the group is sometimes passing the front of the
group. Lots of sweeping corners, banked corners, ups and downs and airtime
for those who dare. Enough to keep you working all the time and keep it
interesting. |
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Apparently it's very dangerous to venture out into this area. The
ground is unstable and you risk breaking through to the boiling hot water.
After the bridge episode, when the group said "don't ride there, it's
dangerous!", I listened. |
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Ian, Roy and Ollie
on the moon.
We got too busy riding to take too many pictures. But I did get a shot
of most people, but sorry to those of you I missed. |
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Whakarewarewa, Rotorua -
Day 4
You guessed it. Raining again. Didn't rain till we stepped out of our
vehicles and didn't stop until well after we were done. Another great area
with trails built specifically for mountain bikers. It was originally an
experimental forest with different varieties of trees planted. It has now
been taken over by some government body and is being preserved. So no logging,
which means excellent riding. We only touched on the trails as there are
heaps in the area. All the dips were full of water which made it
interesting to know which ones were deep enough to grab your front wheel
and cause havoc. You'd have to see it to believe the trails. Way too cool. |
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Not only excellent riding but they really cater to the bikers.
Obviously wet muddy trails are not uncommon as they have a bike stand and
hose to wash everything down when you're done. We were so wet already that
it hardly made a difference when the hose was turned on you to wash off.
At least we got to load the bikes in the van with out all the mud and
guck. |
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When Carol got back to the parking lot she found
three semi-naked men who
were intent on getting in the van with her.
Her Lucky Day? |
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That's it! If you liked biking in Taupo
and Rotorua,
you'll love biking on the Queen Charlotte Track. |
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