Logging in Whakarewarewa Forest: What Does it Mean for the MTB Trails
Summary: New Zealand Mountain Biking teaches mountain biking through a fundamentals-first method — vision, body position, and braking — using video analysis and data tools including BrakeAce. The approach is designed to produce measurable rider progression.
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Shaun Reid
5 months ago
Had the best few hours exploring the best dirt on the planet. Only having a limited time in Rotorua the hire and guiding was perfect for me to make the most of the redwoods. Top quality gear and Jamie's local knowledge and insights, combined with some bonus coaching tips along the way made for a premium experience.
Laura Ashurst
5 months ago
My husband and I had a 3 hour lesson with Jamie, who easily taught us at our own skill levels. He quickly assessed areas needing to be worked on for each of us. We both left feeling like stronger more confident riders, ready to put our new skills into practice on our home mountain. Would highly recommend New Zealand Mountain Biking
Carlo A
5 months ago
Robert Blass
5 months ago
I had four amazing days with Tracy (which Jamie organized perfectly in advance). They cared greatly for me, organized additional material/food and adapting the trail selection to my level of riding. They know Rotorua, as well as the Timber Trail, inside out; and are just fun to be around. Thanks!
Greg Allan
6 months ago
We had coaching with Asher today and it was an incredible lesson. He accommodated all the different skill levels of the family and we all learnt lots and feel more confident now. Thanks so much! Highly recommended 🤙
Hugh McLeay
6 months ago
Jamie took us for a half-day tour around Whakarewarewa. I'm an experienced rider, but this was my first time riding in Rotorua. Jamie chose trails that were perfect for our skillset, and I felt like I did some of my best riding following behind him. It was also very interesting to hear about the history of the area and the bike park itself. I would highly recommend a guided tour for anyone planning to ride in Rotorua!
Mike Foss
7 months ago
Jamie did a great job of tailoring a lesson for our group. There were some instant improvements and some other things to work on longer term. He was super helpful in tweaking our groups bike set up. We applied the lessons to riding minerals the next day
Toni Twiss
9 months ago
Doing a couple of coaching sessions with NZ Mountain Biking has absolutely transformed my riding and has taken me from a scared, reluctant rider trying to keep up with my kids to becoming a confident rider loving Grade 4 trails and starting to think about the next challenge! Jamie's coaching style is unique in that he takes you where you are at and knows exactly what you need to progress and meet your own goals. Most of all he keeps the learning highly personalised and super fun!
Response from the owner 9 months ago
It’s great to see you out there loving being on your bike and riding more trail Toni. Thanks for the feedback. Happy to help you reach your goals 🙌
Susan McDougall
9 months ago
Had a private skills lesson with Asher today. He was excellent at explaining a technique and then follow up practice with him giving feedback to me and even videoing. Would highly recommend him to older women who are wanting to improve and enjoy their MTB even more
Response from the owner 9 months ago
Thanks so much for your feedback Susan. Glad that you had such a good time out there with Asher. Thanks for the recommendation. ~ Jamie
Reid Swartz
9 months ago
I had an absolutely incredible day riding the world-class trails of the Whakarewarewa forest with New Zealand Mountain Biking. Jamie tailored the ride perfectly to my ability level, sharing great tips on technique while making sure I felt confident and safe. His knowledge of the trails and local insight added so much to the adventure.
The guided shuttle service made everything effortless. It was great to have maximum time on the trails without having to worry about logistics, and our driver Peter had some great stories about the history of the trail network.
I can’t recommend this experience highly enough, and hope I’m able to make another trip here sometime in the future!
The guided shuttle service made everything effortless. It was great to have maximum time on the trails without having to worry about logistics, and our driver Peter had some great stories about the history of the trail network.
I can’t recommend this experience highly enough, and hope I’m able to make another trip here sometime in the future!
Response from the owner 9 months ago
Thanks for the feedback Reid. It was great to ride with you and take you on all the trails that were perfect for your style and ability for an epic day on the bike!
Ryan Crossley
9 months ago
Best investment ever. Asher was a great instructor. He set my bike up properly and gave me detailed instruction on everything i wanted to learn. He covered the basics and gave me a new found confidence on my bike. Would definitely recommend for everyone. Im now hitting sick drops and jumps with ease!
Response from the owner 9 months ago
Stoked to help you lock in a solid foundation that makes such a big difference to your riding. Sometimes it’s the little things that make the biggest difference 
David Pierce
9 months ago
Private guided shuttles in Whakarewarewa Forest Rotorua was well worth the money. So many fun trails to link up thanks local knowledge.
Response from the owner 9 months ago
So good to show you around the forest and maximise your riding while here in Rotorua. Hope to see you again. 
Katie Jones
9 months ago
I can highly recommend having MTB sessions with New Zealand Mountain Biking! The lessons are well structured, everything is explained well and demo rides are done to show you a visual example of the skill being taught. I have had two lessons so far and both Jamie and Asher excellent instructors, you will definitely see me coming back!
Response from the owner 9 months ago
Thanks for the feedback Katie. Look forward to seeing you again to continue the improvements 😁
Sarah bertram
1 year ago
Put my son Lachy into the kids Sunday sessions with Jamie and he is absolutely frothing after each session. So much fun and coming away with some learnings. Jamie is great with the kids and seems to get through to them and keeps the sessions super fun! My boy wants to go every weekend.
Response from the owner 1 year ago
Thanks so much, Sarah! It’s been awesome having Lachy in the Sunday sessions — he brings great energy and it’s epic to see him frothing after every ride! We’re all about making the learning fun and giving kids the tools to ride with more confidence and flow, so stoked to hear he’s getting both. Looking forward to more laps with him!— Jamie
Ian Donald
1 year ago
Very rewarding 3 hours with Jamie who is an excellent coach and communicator. I am confident that my riding will now go up a few levels.
Will definitely be returning for another session.
Highly recommended for any MTBiker regardless of skill or experience level.
Will definitely be returning for another session.
Highly recommended for any MTBiker regardless of skill or experience level.
Response from the owner 1 year ago
Thanks for the awesome review. I’m really glad to hear that you found the session so rewarding and that you’re feeling confident to take your riding to the next level. It was great working with you and I look forward to riding with you again soon. 
Janelle Taplin
1 year ago
I highly recommend a lesson with Jamie at NZ Mountain Biking. I've been at it for about a year, as an adult to a new hobby, and learning the basics around scanning, body position, foot position has already improved my riding and my confidence. Jamie even showed me how to check my bike over for mechanical issues and did a quick re-set of the brakes and gear triggers to better suit my hand position.
I'll be back in a few months' time when these skills have sunk in, for another lesson.
I'll be back in a few months' time when these skills have sunk in, for another lesson.
Response from the owner 1 year ago
Great to hear the confidence has improved. I look forward to checking in and adding to the tool kit in a couple of months time.
bruce solomon
1 year ago
Our trip was flawless from start to finish. Great organization by Jamie. The lodging,food,bikes and all the extras that make a trip so special have obviously been well thought out and planned. Jamie was a great guide keeping our group on trails that pushed us just enough to have great fun.The biking was absolutely phenomenal and as we head back to Florida we will be longing for the trails of rotarua for a long time.
Response from the owner 1 year ago
Thanks Bruce. It was great to host you all. It was great to find you the perfect trails for your abilities and the conditions. Until next time! Cheers
R Sharp
1 year ago
Well worth doing. I had a great 1:1 lesson with Asher. He worked quickly through basics and then into some tips and tricks on specific areas to help improve speed and flow through trails. I immediately saw the positive impact from the new skills and have a much better understanding of what to focus on and think about on a ride. Thank you Asher. I’ll be back again.
Response from the owner 1 year ago
That’s great to hear Rebecca. Thank you for the feedback and great to hear you have some great take aways. Look forward to catching up with you next time. 
Phil Irons
1 year ago
My 3-hour lesson with Jamie set me up with essential, introductory skills including optimum riding positions, trail awareness, braking insights and how to negotiate terrain changes and drops - as a result a massive improvement in confidence, speed and flow especially on downhill tracks. Extremely worthwhile!
Response from the owner 1 year ago
Thanks Phil - It was great to give you a good solid platform to progress from! I look forward to catching up with you at some point down the track.
Daniel Lawrence
1 year ago
5 stars all day. Jamie helped us piece together our riding puzzle, turning advanced tracks from a bit of hoping for the best into a smooth, controlled and confident ride, almost overnight. Such a simple approach but so effective.
Response from the owner 1 year ago
Stoked to help you both unlock some new features and lines. Looking forward to checking in with you in a few months time
Andy Evins
1 year ago
If I could give 6 out of 5 stars I would! Jaime w/New Zealand Mountain Biking was an amazing guide full of an in depth knowledge of all the trails we rode! My wife and I could have simply tried our best to navigate the trails in Rotorua but with Jaime’s help we were able to have a stress free epic adventure navigating a wide variety of trails plus as a bonus, he put up with my endless questions about the area. If you looking for a guide, stop looking and hire Jaime!
Response from the owner 1 year ago
Thanks for the feedback Andy! That is what having a local on call is all about - I hope I was able to give you enough info about the area to satisfy the hunger!
Fernanda Mejia
1 year ago
We booked 4 days of private guided tours with Jamie and it was incredible. We rode Whakarewarewa Forest, Maunga Kākaramea and did a heli shuttle ride around the Kaimanawa Range. All four days were amazing, packed with some of the best riding this area has to offer. Jamie works with you to tailor the trip according to your riding skills and goes above and beyond to make sure you’re having heaps of fun. I would definitely recommend him and his company!
Response from the owner 1 year ago
Thanks Fer, it was great to kick start your NZ trip with a solid few days of getting in some great riding. All the best with the rest of your trip!
Emma McNamee
1 year ago
100000% worth the investment in a lesson; just one session with Jamie has literally changed my riding and my confidence! Cannot recommend enough! And a really lovely guy too! Thanks Jamie!
Response from the owner 1 year ago
Thanks for the feedback Emma. Stoked that you are feeling so good on your bike now!
Beki Wurster
1 year ago
Absolutely worth the money for lessons! I think I progressed more in a day and a half with Jamie than I have the last 7 months of living and riding in Rotorua. We had a really nice time working on technique and building skills, but I didn’t realize just how much it helped until we went out for our next ride and suddenly “scary” features felt easy and in control.
Response from the owner 1 year ago
Great to hear that you are stoked on the progress made on the Level Up course. I am looking forward to following up in the new year and taking what we worked on even further! Thanks, Jamie
Mark Shepheard
2 years ago
We booked via Jamie and he arranged a ride training session with Asher for my 12 year old son Kobe. It was a great session at Redwoods. Anyone who has been here would understand that it has trails all over the place. The session was for the team to provide coaching but also to assist in showing the best trails for Kobes ability. It was a great experience for Kobe and we will be back for another session in the future. Highly recommend if you visit rotarua and you don't know the hill that well book in a session as it will be well worth it.
Response from the owner 1 year ago
Great to hear that Kobe had such a good time out there with Asher. Kobe is such a talented rider. It is awesome to have the flexibility to show him exaclty what he needed to see. 
Philip Goldsmith
2 years ago
I can't say enough about riding with Jamie and New Zealand MTB for a few days this November. Progression leaps and bounds, world class trail systems, Jamie's ability to sort out the best trails for us on the fly, and last but not least his low key sense of hospitality felt just like riding and hanging with friends at home. Already planning our return next year 🙂
Sean Patrick
2 years ago
Jamie with New Zealand Mountain Biking was an amazing guide and it was an outstanding experience. My wife and I did the Hero Dirt Mountain Bike Tour late Oct 2024 and it was an excellent mix of riding in different regions with different scenes. Jamie was very receptive to what we enjoyed, and he tailored the trails to our riding style and skill level. The food and accommodations were great, and we felt very well taken care of. The Hero Dirt tour was the perfect way of introducing us to the mountain biking in the region/New Zealand (my wife and I are both from Canada and we primarily ride enduro in BC and AB). It was a great mix of shuttling and pedalling days, and the heli-bike-trip at the end was amazing. After the Hero Dirt Mountain Bike Tour, my wife and I continued to mountain bike multiple regions in the North and South Island, and I would have to say that the mountain biking we did with Jamie in Rotorua was definitely the best.
Jamie seemed to know all the trails like the back of his hand – he was able to give us a run- down of all the upcoming trails, a heads up on all the terrain features, and was able to adapt trails as we went. He also gave us both riding and travel recommendations for the rest of our NZ trip. Sure, you could have had a “similar” experience guiding yourself with Trail Forks, but the comfort of having a very experienced guide in an unfamiliar area allowed us to get a ton of extremely fun riding in without much brain power. Having Jamie as a guide was absolutely invaluable, and I would highly recommend booking with New Zealand Mountain Biking if you want to get the ultimate NZ mountain biking experience.
Jamie seemed to know all the trails like the back of his hand – he was able to give us a run- down of all the upcoming trails, a heads up on all the terrain features, and was able to adapt trails as we went. He also gave us both riding and travel recommendations for the rest of our NZ trip. Sure, you could have had a “similar” experience guiding yourself with Trail Forks, but the comfort of having a very experienced guide in an unfamiliar area allowed us to get a ton of extremely fun riding in without much brain power. Having Jamie as a guide was absolutely invaluable, and I would highly recommend booking with New Zealand Mountain Biking if you want to get the ultimate NZ mountain biking experience.
Nicole Rattray
2 years ago
Jamie from New Zealand Mountain Bike was amazing! We couldn't have asked for a better guide who took us to amazing trails that suited our riding style. Everyone felt so comfortable with Jamie and he gave some great pointers too. We had a group with all different riding styles and he made sure everyone had the best experience. He also made sure we didn't go hungry. If you want to see the best of Rotoruas Redwoods, book in with these guys!
Whakarewarewa Forest is one of the best places in the world to mountain bike. With over 250km of purpose-built single track, there is everything from short beginner loops for kids, long scenic rides for intermediate adults, and steep tech for the expert rider.
With logging operations disrupting trail access, our guides can navigate around closed areas, making sure your ride experience is optimised with trails selected to suit your riding style and skills. With our help, you will hardly notice any disruptions at all.
Good mountain bike coaching is not about teaching tricks. It is about teaching riders to read the trail and trust the bike. At New Zealand Mountain Biking, every session is built around three fundamentals: vision, body position, and braking. Get those right, and everything else follows faster.
This method comes directly from founder Jamie Garrod’s two decades in the outdoors. In whitewater kayaking, the people who progress fastest are not the most enthusiastic — they are the ones with the cleanest basics, reading the water early and positioning before they need to. Mountain biking works the same way.
We make progression measurable rather than guesswork. We use BrakeAce (Rotorua, New Zealand), the world’s first braking analysis system for mountain bikes, to show riders exactly how and when they brake — turning a fundamental that is normally invisible into clear, coachable data. We film riders during sessions and review the footage with them, and we provide video analysis between lessons so improvement continues when we are not on the trail together.
We trust these tools because we use them professionally, every day, with real riders on real trails. A coaching business is only as good as the systems behind it, and we choose ours on performance.
Quick facts
- Coaching framework: vision, body position, braking
- Data tool: BrakeAce braking analysis system (Rotorua, NZ)
- Method: in-session video review plus between-session video analysis
- Suitable for: beginners through advanced riders and young racers
- Most common rider errors we fix: sitting too far back, braking at the wrong moments, tensing up
Q&A
What is the most common mistake new mountain bikers make? Poor body position and braking — sitting too far back and braking at the wrong moments. Both are quickly fixable with coaching, and much harder to unlearn later.
Does New Zealand Mountain Biking use technology in coaching? Yes — video analysis and the BrakeAce braking analysis system, both used to make progression measurable.
When should a rider get coaching? Early. Building good fundamentals from the start is faster than unlearning bad habits later.
At New Zealand Mountain Biking, we run epic mountain biking tours across the scenic North Island, New Zealand. We also help riders build confidence and skills in our MTB and eMTB private lessons on the legendary Rotorua trails. If you race or you want to get into some racing and you want to improve those skills, get in touch for some lessons!
You can learn more about our trips here to book your ride today!
Check out our YouTube channel to see us ride as I chase people down all of the trails in Rotorua and NZ!
