22/09/2026
🚵♀️🌲 AOTEAROA & ALL TRAILS IN ZONE 5 ARE OPEN!🌲🚵♂️
After months of forestry operations, rebuilding, clearing, digging, repairing and a HUGE amount of mahi… Zone 5 is officially back in action – and AOTEAROA is ready to ride! 🙌
And what a comeback.
When harvesting began, we genuinely thought we might lose Aotearoa. In places, the original trail disappeared beneath more than three metres of slash. But thanks to an incredible combined effort, not only has it survived – it has been rebuilt and is riding brilliantly.
A massive shout-out to Ryan Lovett from Lovett Trail Builders, who has done an outstanding job bringing Aotearoa back to life. Once again, Ryan donated a considerable amount of his own time on top of the contracted work – and while he was at it, threw in a rebuild of TE PITO for free. We are incredibly grateful for his skill, generosity and ongoing support of our park. 👏
The rebuild was funded in part by Focus Paihia Community Trust, whose ongoing support of Waitangi Mountain Bike Park has enabled us to get stuck in and bring this much-loved trail back to life. Having that backing behind the park makes projects like this possible, and we are hugely grateful for their continued investment in our trails and our community. ❤️
Huge thanks also, once again, to Harry, Nigel and the team at WISE ON WOOD, along with PF OLSEN, for the extraordinary care and effort they put in throughout the harvest. After harvesting, the crew went back into AOTEAROA, where in places more than three metres of slash completely buried the original trail, they carefully cleared the debris and re-established the original trail corridor – a huge job that saved the park many thousands of dollars and made the rebuild possible. They also did an exceptional job harvesting around ATAWHAI, our uphill trail out of Zone 5, managing to preserve the trail surface without compromising it. Their work has played a massive part in getting Aotearoa rebuilt and why we've been able to get the whole of Zone 5 open again so quickly.👏
And then there are our volunteers. ❤️ Over the past month, an awesome crew has been out there alongside Tiff clearing slips, branches and culverts, tidying trail, digging, raking and doing whatever was needed to get Zone 5 back into shape. Thank you – we absolutely couldn't do this without you.
And now… AOTEAROA!
One of the longest trails in the park, a Grade 2 family friendly favourite, Aotearoa traverses the eastern perimeter of Zone 5. It's a big ride, a proper adventure, and now it's a completely different experience.
The harvest has opened up views right across the valley, and you can now look ahead and see the trail continuing in the distance as it winds its way around the landscape. It's familiar Aotearoa – but with an entirely new perspective.
Same adventure. Brand-new outlook. And one very special trail we are bloody delighted to have back. 🤙
Zone 5 is OPEN. Aotearoa is OPEN.
Go ride it. 🚵♀️🚵♂️
(📸 Images thanks to Ryan Lovett / Lovett Trail Builders)
