Dam, Dam and Damn!!!

Leaving our most accomodating Arapuni Backpackers hosts and the knowledgable Brian of Rhubarb cafe, we started on the serpentine singletrack of the Waikato River trails. From Arapuni Swingbridge through to Jones Landing is a technical delight with a staircase thrown in to keep you entertained. A country road blat takes you to the tiny but delightful Jim Barnett Reserve for 3-4km of Punga (tree fern) lined singletrack before popping you back out onto that country road again. 

In total there is 75-80km of serpentine singletrack that runs along the river and traverses more than six different trail types. The dams visited are; Arapuni, Waipapa, Maraetai and Whakamaru. 

Mangakino was a great place to have lunch while waiting for a crazy afternoon storm to blow over. Over 35km of singletrack and numerous squeeze gates (bikepacking kit only! panniers will NOT fit through!) took us through to Atiamuri. 

Mr Garmin Etrex happily told us that there was 40km to Rotorua and only 1hour of daylight left. Thanks to our Dynamo powered light sets (big thanks to Kerry of KLite for all his assistance with gear advice and fantastic product!) we motored into Rotorua at 9.35pm at night. Lesson for the day?; technical singletrack takes a while to ride!

 Thanks KLite!!!