Taumaraunui to Rotorua - 290kms - 11 days

Finally we were off on the Timber Trail – the trail we were most excited about in the North Island. It was to be 84kms of awesome trails weaving through the Pureroa Forest, which was rich in history with the timber milling days dating back to 1930’s. We spent 4 days on the trail to make the most of the beautiful area biking approximately 15-20kms per day. The Ongarue spiral was definitely one of the highlights cruising through a 60m tunnel that was built back in the 1900’s – the spiral eased the grade for the timber trams that wound up and down through this section. The impressive swing bridges were a hit too. The longest one (3rd longest suspension bridge in NZ) spanning over 141metres over the Maramataha River. The kids take to setting us running races across the 141 metre bridge. We still have another 12kms to bike but kids are determined to see who is the fastest getting across the bridge on foot. Their energy always amazes us! They soon get the rhythm of the sway of the bridge and get faster and faster although Dad eventually takes out the title but only just!

We camp over at some of the old work camp sites, more cold nights for us as we sleep in our down jackets to combat the cold. But clear skies promise another blue-sky day so it’s worth it.

Our day 3 was the tough one – almost 600m of elevation over the highest point (971m) and down to almost Forest Edge. With a few sprays of magnesium on everyone’s legs we set off to conquer the hills, we had prepped the kids about how much elevation was to be gained so they were aware of the tough day ahead. This does seem to make a huge difference to the kids attitude and determination. The gradient was tough – it seemed to get steeper and steeper each corner and with fully loaded bikes it was hard yakker. It definitely took a bit of walking and pushing our bikes and was a fun(sometimes!) teamwork challenge. We passed numerous lots of people heading down, they were always very intrigued with what we were doing and often commenting on how amazing the kids are. The kids just shrug their shoulders as this is the norm for them now.

Close to the top Stef gets a flattie as her buggy tips from a tree root onto her back tyre, problem is Jazz has the spare tube who is far ahead. We 'cooee' to Jazz numerous times until Adrian and Mahe down their gear and race ahead to catch her. They return with no Jazz in site. Now it’s time to get the flat fixed with anything so we can search for Jazz. Ad pops a 26” into the 27” tyre, it doesn’t work, it has stretched too much that it cracks the join, so we try a 29” inch that luckily holds. As the day is now getting on, we head off on the track determined to find Jazz before the dark sets in. Two cyclists pass us coming down after 20 minutes and yes they’ve spotted a young girl walking down the track with no bike! Jazz had waited for us for over an hour then decided to walk down the track to find us. With her strength that day she had managed to get too far ahead. We reunite as a happy family, it certainly had us worrying and Jazz too. Another lesson learnt.

We finally hit the 971m summit with limited views out to Lake Taupo. The downhill is definitely worth it, which we enjoy all the way down to Forest Edge Shelter. We discover that we are actually in the Level 3 Waikato boundary by bikers breaking the rules and heading up on the trail. We don’t felt quite so bad as we know we get back out of it reasonably quickly.

The highest part of the trail by foot is actually Mt Pureora 1165m which we cruise up the following day hoping the cloud may lift, no views for us today but a good walk is always nice for a change.

It was then time to head down off the trail and find an alternative route to get us back in the L2 area of Waikato, before we were stranded in L3, we soon discover a link road that veers off the trail and turns into a forestry road.

Adrian has discovered a YMCA camp 20kms on which turns out to be a godsend, as 100mm of rain falls overnight. The large veranda is just what we needed with the heaviest rainfall yet on our bike trip.

Our next challenge was to get all 5 bikes, 2 trailers, 10 panniers, 3 drybags and 5 people across the Arataki Swing Bridge which spans 36m across the Mangakino Stream. The stream is raging from the previous nights rain, with broken boards and loose wires it was a frightening experience, but we make it across after a 45 minute ordeal.

Excitement was high as we slowly hit civilization, pies, chippies and ice creams were the requests in Whakamaru where we stocked up once again for the next 4-6 days riding. The stock up wasn’t quite as we thought as they had limited supplies, no fresh fruit or vegetables so it was canned fruit, frozen vegetables, and a very basic shop that would hopefully get us to Rotorua. An expensive stock up that was for sure but just grateful that we had new supplies that would give us a bit of a break from the dehydrated foods.

While enjoying a pie outside the dairy we became aware of the police car roadblock. This was the boundary separating the L2 from the L3, we were glad we’d come out on the right side of the boarder. However it now meant we had to head south east away from the boarder and lose some of that hard earnt kilometres away towards Cape Reinga.

Cruising the Waikato River Trails proved more scenic than we thought it would be. Beautiful lakes and hill sides with mixtures of native forest and rocky outcrops. We spent the first night beside the Waikato River. Within 20min a friendly lady was offering beer, avocados and cooked kumara to supplement our frozen vegetable meal. We were grateful for the kind generosity and hovered up all that was offered.

The section of trail we started off on the next day was a real challenge. Steep rutted sections, with tight corners and sections of semi overgrown track, it then started to relent to a nice flat gravely path which was fast going. We pulled out the cooker for lunch and cooked up defrosted sausages. A welcome break from crackers and wraps. We enjoy a swim at Atiamuri Dam in the heat of the day to cool off. Soon after we caught up with a bunch of bike packers, the first we'd seen since we started the North Island. They were keen to find out how to enter the Timber trail without getting caught in the boarders. They were happy with what we could pass on and sceptical about the Arataki bridge.

We set up camp down by Lake Ohakuri and enjoyed a quiet sleep away from the loud roads.

Mahe had us awake early with a scream of a fish on his line. We were all glad about Mahe's beautiful brown trout to supplement our diminishing food stocks.

Climbing out of Atamuri we were stopped by a farmer who offered to drive us to the top of the hill. Stating it was a very big hill and the kids would struggle. She was a little horrified that we possibly had a baby in the Chariot Buggy too, so was very relived to hear it was just our pantry! Grateful for the offer we declined as the kids were keen to try the hill now they knew it had a reputation for being a big one. Plus there was no way they were going to miss out a section, even it if meant pushing the bikes to the top.

The hill was overrated, the kids did it just fine, team work certainly helps.

Off the top we enjoy a long flowing downhill into the Waikite Valley and cook up Mahe's beautiful trout for lunch. A bit more up and down bought us to the Waikite Hot Springs. The natural mineral hot springs were a welcome sight. And to top it off the café was serving up hot chips and Nacho’s. While we are enjoying our soak we receive a goody bag from a local, we had spoken to him at Lake Ohakuri and mentioned we were short on food, just as a passing comment. He tracked us down a day later to help us out with fresh avocados, bread and fruit plus an envelope with $100 inside! Such kindness! Another couple we had seen on the trail a few days earlier also kindly gave us a bag of food they were happy to depart with, we certainly appreciate these random acts of kindness! It means we don't need to push for Rotorua and can split our what was going to be a big day now into two days.

We all slept well that night. And even enjoyed another soak in the pools before heading off towards Rotorua.

Straight out of Waikite Hot Springs the road gains 200m at such a steep gradient that we can hardly even walk let alone push our bikes up. A few ups and downs and pushing see us roll over the top and enjoy the gradual roll all the way down to Waimangu Volcanic Valley. We enjoy learning about the valley and marvel at the bubbling mud while we munch on our lunch.

Out of Waimangu we hit our worst cycle trail since leaving Bluff. The track was well signposted before stopping and leaving no sign off anything that signified a trail. After much toing and throwing and asking locals that were stumped about a trail even existing, we came across a faint track behind a road barrier that looked like more of a 10 year old sheep track. We pushed on in grass up to our waist right beside the main road before it shot off up a hill with steep cut backs and overgrown broom. It was certainty a trail not used much at all but well-advertised on brochures and maps. It then joined the Kerosene Creek Road. And right at that moment in time, but who should turn up was Farmer John in his trusty old farm truck. He also knew we were low on food so brought the kids their favourite chicken skewers. These went down a treat.

The kids were happy to see Grandad John again. And we all enjoyed a few hours soaking in Kerosene Creek discussing our last 14 days of adventures through the Timber Trail.

Fed up with the cycle trail we braved the busy road for a few kilometres to gain some ground towards Rotorua. Stopping at Lake Okaro for one last night before we could access a proper town with supermarkets. Our food supplies were diminishing again, it's amazing how much everyone eats! Grandad John takes Mahe and Jazz for a meal in Rotorua as a birthday treat. They also enjoy a night in a real bed for a change. While Charlie, Mum and Dad eat the last of the couscous and dehydrated peas but enjoy the quiet time with just one child.

Charlie tries hard to catch a fish in the lake but to no avail.

Bright and early the farmer truck turns up with a bit of nice food to fill our empty tummies. We enjoy a reasonably quick ride into Rotorua and the Thermal Holiday Park. John spends a few nights with us. We celebrate Mahe's 10th Birthday by going luging, it feels good to swap out the bike wheels for luge wheels. That night we all enjoy a meal out at Valentines, the buffet counter is humming with the Braaksma's making regular trips to make up for the last few days Spending about two and half hours over filling, before lights out and a good nights sleep with full stomachs.

We enjoy 12 days in Rotorua. It was hard to have a rest off the bikes with the Redwoods right beside us. So a quick derig of gear, a few tunes to the suspension and a real bike for Dad we were off.

The kids were fitter than most E-bikes in the park and we enjoy many hours shredding the trails that Rotorua has to offer. Even Charlie was leaving us for dead on his race down Huckle Berry.

Unfortunately Crankworxs wasn’t open for spectators so we had to find the riders in the park and watch them there. Often it is just us with the pro riders on the shuttle bus! The kids enjoy the atmosphere of the bike park and help out the shuttle drivers with clipping the passes, there are no other kids around as it is mid week so the trails are deserted.

We were grateful to leave Rotorua with our bikes and bodies in tact. The only downside was we hadn’t had a rest. We’d been on our bikes almost everyday since leaving Taihape 34 days ago. And we were certainly feeling it. We book into a hotel for 2 nights away from the trails to have some down time before heading up to Thames on the Hauraki Rail Trail.