River Trail to Pokaiwhenua car park, various back roads to Te Aroha, then on to the Hauraki Rail Trail.
Link to Map
Distance: 133 Km
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| Not so early morning start at Waipapa Dam |
Another late start at 10.45 after the commute from Cambridge. The Arapuni section of the cycle way is noted for a flight of steps near the start, a steep climb through switchbacks and a technical section into Arapuni. At about 2km in the 6 flights of steps are soon out of the way, there’s a board on the edge to push the bike up and once the technique is sorted it’s not hard although I’m glad to be packing light.
There’s a bit of up and down and a fair amount of forestry road, one of which furnishes the first and only puncture of the trip – a drawback of the lighter tyres. A short way after the Mangarewa Bridge (similar to the Pureora bridges) I stop to talk to a woman with her shoes off at a picnic table. She announces that she is 90 and can walk about 20km a day but won’t go further than the bridge as she hates heights. She is touring her campervan and is ticking off a number of walks and is intending to have a look at Pureora next.
The climb when it comes is steep, with apparently 37 switch backs and about 200m gain in elevation. I take it slow with a break and frequent breathers and manage a mix of riding and pushing. Two overseas cyclists pass going down (carefully) and commiserate on what’s ahead. There’s a fair amount of bush which thins towards the top and afterwards a long downhill on seal (ignoring the detour through Bennetts Bush) to Jones Landing.
The section from Jones Landing to Arapuni is noted as advanced and I decide not to put the bike through it, taking the longer road option and re-joining the trail where Arapuni Road crosses the river for a smooth run into Arapuni, impressive views of the power house and another imposing swing bridge. It’s 1.45 so time for a 45 minute break, lunch with the support crew at Rhubarb Café and top up water bottles before heading off again.
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| Arapuni Power House |
The carpark marks the end of the Waikato River Trail. Overall it’s a bit of a mixed bag with a fair amount of road riding and a lot of exotic forest but some entertaining sections and pretty scenery. It’s a bit tough judging it after doing the Timber Trail.
The carpark also marks a change in the route – there’s a long commute ahead across the plains to the Hauraki Rail Trail. But the wind is not so bad so I truck on aiming to get to at least Te Aroha before calling it quits.
The short section of SH 1 is nuts with traffic and SH 29 is not much better. It’s a relief to turn off onto quieter roads at Puketutu Road that winds into some easy hills past Hobbiton and into Matamata via Station Road. After drinks and snacks at the Gull on Tower Road, its off along long straights towards the Kaimais in the distance, gradually turning more north to parallel the range.
The support crew is waiting at the start of the Rail Trail in Te Aroha (6.30pm) and doesn’t complain when I decide that Paeroa is not so far (21 km) and may as well be knocked off before calling it quits for the day.
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| Te Aroha - Waiting for a Rail Trail |
The Trail runs straight and flat through farmland with numerous road and farm track crossings. It’s well formed but quickly becomes monotonous. The signage is not as well done as the previous two trails although it is generally pretty quickly worked out. There’s not much to say about it beyond that really, which is pretty unfair as the trail is maintained by volunteers who have done an outstanding job and there is plenty to see and do if you have time to seek it out – the Hauraki Rail Trail website has more info and there is a booklet available at i-sites.
After less than an hour the trail eventually does a weird wee kink into Paeroa and the bike goes on the back of the car for the commute back to Cambridge.
Link to day nine: Paeroa to Waiheke
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