More fun than you can poke a bike at At just a hop skip and a jump from Rotorua, on the isolated east coast of the North Island, a hidden gem of a trail lies in the backcountry – the Pakihi Trail. Once a pack route to transport goods across to Gisborne, this continuous downhill…
The Essence of back country riding One of New Zealand’s great rides, and an area of outstanding natural beauty, the Timber Trail is a ride that will take you deep into the backcountry and satisfy any riding style and ability. The terrain on the Timber Trail has a little something for everyone, from flowing single…
New Zealanders identify strongly with our national bird. Land locked in the bottom corner of the South Pacific isolated for 80 million years. These strange birds that had no need to fly, have a strong sense of smell, come out at night, and lay one giant egg per clutch are in desperate need of help to survive as a species. With only 5% of each egg laid in the wild making it to adulthood these birds are in real danger of becoming extinct off of the mainland.
Went for a quick ride in the rain with Phil to try to get some new content for some shameless self promotion and of course my dog Maddie came to. I had put so much effort into training her to get in behind and wait until I had passed her before she set off that I thought she would just take the path of least resistance when she followed. It turns out she’s coming so fast that I pretty much speed check her into everything and she flies just as well if not better than me!
What better way to bring in the New Year than to take a look back to the past. New Zealand is seen as a very young country but believe me, it has a long and colorful past. One of the greatest and unique things that New Zealand has going for it, is that for about 80 million years it sat in total isolation. There it was, broken away from its predesessor – the super continent Gondwana, just floating around in the South Pacific With no human interfarrance until 800 years ago. This allowed the Jurassic Forest to evolve without the pressense of mammals (apart from a couple of very small bats that also live in Whirinaki te Pua-a-Tane). New Zealand split from Australia, South America, and finally Antarctica to float alone, by itself and remain ancient!
Travel is a multi faceted beast. You hope for excitement, new experiences, leisure and relaxation, and a general impact on your senses. There are no rules. If a Pacific Island resort stay with a book by the pool and on the beach is your thing, then fair play – just make sure it’s a damn fine book.
The Singlespeed World Champs are coming back to Rotorua next month.
Always a good time and a great event, the annual event is happening next month and this year it is also the World Championship. Get dressed up, with the theme being “have some fun, but maybe help a mate” it leaves a lot of room for creativity.
