Adrenalin Forest, TECT All Terrain Park, Western BOP

What: Adrenalin pumping high ropes course amongst the Pine Trees, 3 hours to complete as many of the six pathway challenges as you can!

When: Anytime of year (best with little or no wind)

Where: TECT All Terrain Park, located off SH36, the main road link between Tauranga and Rotorua, the park is approximately 20 minutes drive from the outskirts of Tauranga or Rotorua.

How… 

Our group of five arrived at Adrenalin Forest just in time to get ahead of a large group booking of 24 (make sure you book first, they will advise if any large groups are booked in as you do not want to get stuck in a long queue of ‘ropers’!

The staff at Adrenalin Forest were super friendly (not too hard on the eyes) and gave a quick but thorough demonstration on safety and equipment basics before directing us towards our warm-up on pathway one – ‘Discovery’.  

The ropes forest consists of six pathways which progress in difficulty. Each pathway varies in height and holds a number of different challenges, most of which include you walking, swinging or leaping along an assortment of suspended rope and log obstacles. As you progress through the course the pathways increase in the number of challenges and height and become more physically demanding.  Within each course there are also several flying fox sections where you can rest the arms and zoom across to the next step via a flying fox apparatus attached to your harness.

After completely levels one and two with relative ease we decided to skip to level five and get some real adrenalin pumping.  At a height of 15m this was a fair jump from the 6m max height in level 2 and substantially harder on the arms!  Peer-pressure dominated my slight fear of heights and I found myself well out of my comfort zone walking over tightropes, swinging logs, rope swings and numerous other obstacles suspended at 15m between the pines.  

The ground was a sweet sight at the end of level five but with my fear of heights conquered (or over-run by adrenalin) I was now amped for the highest level – 6.  Level six wasn’t a huge height jump from Level five at 18m but was definitely more physically demanding drawing upon a lot of core and upper-body strength.  On completion of level six the group then returned to complete level 3 and 4.  It should be noted that there is a reason for completing the levels in order as the lower levels tend to contain some of the same or very similar obstacles as the higher levels which allows you to discover the best way to conquer the challenge at a lower height before moving upward!

From monkey bridges to spinning logs, spider-nets, suspended oil barrel tunnels and even a snowboard slider, the challenges were a reflection of the great kiwi sense of ingenuity and adventure.  With levels to suit all ages and fear levels I would highly recommend this as a fun afternoon out with friends and family or for some good old group/team building! 

Why not make a day of it an take along the mountain bikes - TECT All Terrain Park has a range of trails to bike or run with further trail development underway!

Karangahake Gorge Walk

What: The Karangahake Gorge walk is now part of the Hauraki Rail Trail; popular with both walkers and cyclists.  We explored this great track by walking the 14km return track from Waikino Visitor Centre to Karangahake.

When: Any time of year.  Warm weather is perfect to incorporate this walk with a trip to the nearby Waihi Beach.

Where: This track is situated between Paeroa and Waihi.  The track can be accessed from either Karangahake or Waikino.  As we wanted to cover a bit of distance, we decided to start at Waikino Visitor centre and walk back towards Karangahake.

How...

We started this walk at about 9am in the morning, heading towards Karangahake.  After a very short walk, we arrived at the site of the Victoria Battery.  Pictures and information provided on signposts bring the area to life and provide an insight of what the area looked like in the bustling gold-mining days. 

After a short stop at the Victoria Battery, we then walked at a steady pace for an hour until we reached the popular rail tunnel.  The track until this spot was flat and easy, which would make it perfect to get out on the bikes with family or friends.  The tunnel itself was long and eerie and after walking almost a kilometre underground we arrived at Karangahake village.

From here, there are many places to explore and we decided to get back underground and see the 'underground pump station' and the 'windows walk'.  If you decide to do this walk, it is well worth checking out these places - so bring a torch!  It is a short walk from Karangahake to see these awesome places, and well worth it to follow the tracks through the old mining tunnels. 

The 'windows walk' is exactly how it sounds.  A walk through the mining tunnels with opportunities to look out through the 'windows' of the cliff face over the scenery of rapids and native bush. 

We then headed back to Karangahake for a quick break before doing the return trip back through the rail tunnel and gravel track to the car.  Coffee and cake at a cafe at nearby Waihi made for the perfect end to a great morning of exploring this awesome area.

Karangahake Gorge is approxiamately 1h 15min from Hamilton.

Wairere Falls

What: 2.5-3 hour return tramp to the top of the Wairere Falls (highest waterfall in the North Island)


When: Anytime of year (Summer for swimming)


Where: Goodwin Road, Te Aroha


How… 
This track boasts an array of beautiful sceneries, full of moss-covered rocks, native forest, clear streams, baby waterfalls and the stunning 153m high Wairere Falls.  

The track was well marked and maintained and easily found following the DOC signs from the carpark on Goodwin Road.  Moss-covered rocks and an assortment of tree root-steps made up the first part of the track as it wound towards the river.  As the track reached the river a series of bridges assisted with river crossings, providing great views of the baby ‘river falls’ along the way.  

After the bridges the ascent steepened with a long staircase leading to the top of the gorge.  A few minutes further through the bush and we reached the Wairere Falls lookout (signposted – about 2 minutes off the main track).  The platform looks out from the base of the falls and provided some great snaps of the majestic falls.  


From the lookout the ascent to the top of the falls grew substantially steeper with plenty of stairs to keep the heart rate up. The last ten minutes or so of the track to the  summit was a welcome flat path through more gorgeous bush, finally reaching the crystal clear waters flowing down from the top of the Kaimais (probably drinkable!).  

The summit platform provides expansive views of the surrounding valley and Waikato Farmland and the river looks most inviting with several small water holes for those hot summer days (just don’t get too close to the edge of the falls!).  

The return walk follows the same track back to the carpark on Goodwin Road with the descent taking about half as long as the climb!

Kayak Fishing Tour, Papamoa

What: Kayak Fishing Tour at Papamoa beach with Tim from NZ Kayaker.com     


When: Year-round - the fish are always there! (wetsuit/thermals recommended in winter!)


Where: Tours run from Papamoa, Mt. Maunganui, or Tauranga Harbour


How...

A beautiful, clear April afternoon made for near-perfect kayak fishing conditions, with the only threat being the small waves on the Papamoa coastline making for a slightly more challenging paddle out.  Before setting off on the fishing tour, our friendly instructor Tim gave us the down-low on how to work the kayaks and fishing gear.  A thorough demonstration covered all aspects of the ensuing trip from paddling tips, to casting and lure techniques. After giving us some pointers on how to paddle and balance through the waves, Tim sent us off one-by-one instructing us to paddle as quickly as possible through the breaking waves.  


The solid fishing kayaks sailed easily over the breaking waves, minus a slight misjudgement of the first wave which managed to tip me out upon entry (wetsuit recommended!).  After meeting Tim beyond the breakers we then began to paddle in the general direction of Motiti Island.  After a 30-40 minute paddle Tim’s fish radar seemed satisfied and he then assisted us to release our sea anchors and cast out our rods!  

The next few hours were spent casting, fishing, chatting and enjoying the sights of the Mount Mauganui and Papamoa coastline.  Along with useful fishing tips, Tim provided great conversation with lot’s of exciting stories to share from his recent solo circumnavigation of NZ by kayak.  Fish-wise the afternoon was a little quieter than usual with a few bites, a few undersized throw-backs and Kelly being the only one to land some decent-sized snapper.  However, the lack of fish didn’t dampen the fun afternoon in the sun and Tim kindly gave us a plateful of fresh snapper fillets each to take home - part of his bounty from a more successful trip the day before!


If you are interested in one of these kayak fishing tours visit www.nzkayaker.com for more details, email tim@nzkayaker.com, or ring Tim direct on 027 668 9904.  Tim is currently running an introductory special of $50 per person for a 4hr fishing tour so get in fast!!