7 minute read
MOTU TRAILS
ŌPŌTIKI to MATAWAI
1-3 days - 121km
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© AA Traveller 2022
Many great things come in threes: musketeers, French hens and the Bee Gees. And if you’re a keen cyclist – the Motu Trails.
Featuring three wildly different rides, this year-round track can be completed as a full 91km loop or as separate sections, but this will depend entirely on your fitness and ability.
The Dunes Trail kick-starts the mission, starting from the Pākōwhai ki Otutaopuku Bridge (Memorial Park) in Ōpōtiki. Considered the easiest section of the three, a softly undulating pathway skims the edge of the Pacific Ocean, providing plenty of opportunity for seaside picnics and refreshing dips. Enjoy this leisurely amble before entering the second phase of your journey. The Grade 3 Motu Road is an historic byway that will test your fitness. Diverting away from the coast, the mostly-unsealed road climbs to almost 800m via forest and farmland. Don’t be put off by the mention of road, this spectacularly remote sectionis seldom used by cars. You’re now on course for the third and most challenging section of the trail: the Pākihi Track. Buckle in for a sensational 20km Grade 4 trail that’s been weaving its way through these parts for over 100 years. Delve into mature forest and bushy backcountry terrain, follow the Pākihi Stream, navigating 25 bridges and, in places, exposed cliff edge. Know when to stop and walkshort sections and be aware that bad weather can bring slips and windfalls.
Motu Trails shelter © Mead Norton Photography
TRAIL INFO
TRAIL GRADES:
DUNES TRAIL GRADE 2 (EASY)MOTU RD TRAIL - GRADE 3 (INTERMEDIATE)
PĀKIHI TRACK - GRADE 4 (ADVANCED)
MOBILE PHONE COVERAGE: Limited outside of Ōpōtiki, very patchy on the Motu Rd and nonexistent on the Pākihi Track.
REFRESHMENTS: Dunes Trail riders will readily find refreshments in Ōpōtiki and a shop midway along the trail. Inland, there’s a shop in Matawai. Motu Rd and Pākihi Track riders should be self-sufficient and carry plenty of water and food.
TYPE OF BIKE: Hybrid or touring bikes with knobbly tyres are fine for the Dunes Trail, but a mountain bike is recommended on the rougher Motu and Pākihi trails. E-bikes are welcome, so long as you have good battery capacity on the Motu Rd. You must be able to lift/ carry the e-bike on Pākihi Track.
Pākihi Track, Motu Trails © StudioZag
RIDING THE TRAIL
DUNES TRAIL, 20KM RETURN
This easy trail is great for riders of all ages and abilities with a mostly wide, smooth surface and a total elevation change of only 100m along its entire length (200m when ridden both ways). It starts at the graceful Pākōwhai ki Otutaopuku suspension bridge in Ōpōtiki’s Memorial Park Reserve. From here it undulates gently for 10km along the sand dunes east of town, with epic ocean and East Cape views and plenty of opportunities for picnicking on empty beaches or going for a dip. Jackson Rd, at the eastern end of the trail, marks the start of the Motu Rd Trail, although riders may wish to turn back at the 9km mark as the final roadside kilometre is largely unremarkable.
MOTU RD TRAIL, 67KM
The Motu Rd is best suited to fit riders who aren’t afraid of hills. Riding in the direction from Jackson Rd (near the coast) to the settlement of Motu, this route dishes up 1600m of climbing. It can be ridden in the other direction, of course, with the end-point of Matawai already 500m above sea level so there’s more downhill than up. Either way, it’s a pretty big effort that shouldn’t be underestimated. From Jackson Rd, the trail follows a quiet country road, mostly surfaced in gravel, up and over a highpoint of 750m+ above sea level.
Traffic is generally very light but riders should always be on the lookout for cars and the occasional logging truck, especially around corners. Motu Rd formed part of the original coach road between the Eastern Bay of Plenty and Tairāwhiti Gisborne. You are riding through lush farmland and the remote bush country of the Raukumara Ranges. It’s 24km – including a solid 6km climb up Meremere Hill – to the pint-sized settlement of Toatoa. Winding up through magnificent forest for another 14km riders reach the Pākihi Track junction, where the 91km-loop riders leave the Motu Rd. From there the road climbs steadily, with some well-earned views across ridges way back to the coast and Whale Island/Moutohorā, before a satisfyingly long downhill into the pretty Motu Valley. There’s welcoming accommodation here at the Community House as well as The Weka Nest, with scenic Motu Falls a worthy detour 5km away. A further 14km away on a quiet, slightly uphill, sealed road is Matawai, the inland end of this ride, and a popular spot for shuttle drop-offs and pick-ups. Note that the Rere Falls Trail (a 103km Heartland Ride) links Matawai with Tairāwhiti Gisborne via quiet, country roads and highway.
PĀKIHI TRACK, 44KM
Originally a pack track cut in the early 1900s, the Pākihi Track is now a wonderful 20km-long wilderness trail shared by bikers, runners and walkers. The advanced track is strictly mountain bike territory and should only be attempted by experienced riders. Although not particularly technical, caution is advised – there are many drop-offs beside the track, while gravel, rocks and tree debris on the track can escalate the level of difficulty. The upper track also gets slippery after wet weather. For the safety of other users, it’s a one-way track for cyclists – do not ride up the track from the Pākihi Rd. The first 11km section twists and turns through magical forest dominated by tawa, tōtara, rimu and rewarewa, before reaching the Pākihi Hut around the half-way point. This is a great place to stop for lunch before heading onward. The stunning lower section starts by crossing Pākihi Stream via an impressive 35m suspension bridge, and then follows it all the way to the road end. Along the way keep an eye out for native birds including the kererū (wood pigeon), tūī and fantails. If you are lucky, you may even see a kārearea (New Zealand falcon) or North Island robin. The cheeky North Island weka may also be heard calling out. At the car park, riders can rest a while at the massive picnic table built by trail volunteers from an old bridge. The last leg back to Ōpōtiki involves 9km on gravel road beside the river, followed by 10km on a country road and 4km along the Ōtara stopbank trail back into town. It is highly recommended that you take a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) when cycling the Pākihi Track. PLBs can be hired from Ōpōtiki and Gisborne i-SITEs and from Cycle Gisborne.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE TRAIL
Hukutaia Domain, Ōpōtiki © Adobe Stock
• Hukutaia Domain is 7km out of Ōpōtiki and home to a 2000-year-old pūriri tree known as Taketakerau. You can’t cycle in the domain but it’s a pleasant on-road ride to get there.
• Take a jet-boat tour along the Motu River combining thrills with historic sights.
• Visit the astounding Motu Falls.
• Ōpōtiki’s long sandy beaches are safe for swimming and little further down the coast, the bays are good for snorkelling.
• Ōpōtiki Museum is in an old bus station with two levels of old town relics and Māori artefacts.
• If you packed your rod, then you’ll find the rivers around Ōpōtiki are brimming with rainbow and brown trout for some choice fishing.
Motu Trail – Dunes Trail © Neil Robert Hutton Photography
