Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Mountain bike tracks at Te Mata Park draw enthusiasts in numbers

Hawkes Bay Today
3 Nov, 2017 08:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Chairman of the HB Mountain bike club Scott Richardson. The recent development of mountain bike tracks has excited locals. PHOTO / File.

Chairman of the HB Mountain bike club Scott Richardson. The recent development of mountain bike tracks has excited locals. PHOTO / File.

Te Mata Peak's recent development of mountain bike tracks have excited the local community in what they believe is an "untapped resource".

Despite this, it has not been an easy ride for the brains behind the operation.

Former international adventure racer Tim Wilkins, who worked alongside Damon Harvey and Russell Nettlingham to get the tracks on Te Mata Peak, said it had been a "difficult and long, drawn-out process, negotiating with the trust board and sourcing landscape reports, engineering reports and a resource consent".

"We worked our way through that process. We just did it for the sake of the community."

They had received funding from the Hawke's Bay Regional Council and the Hastings District Council.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Although the four tracks were not built overnight, he said the use they had been getting since they opened in May was unbelievable and was also contributing to the local economy.

"What we didn't realise is that there is a huge community of kids that live in the wider Hastings/Havelock area that are enthusiastic on mountain biking. The use that those tracks get during the weekend is just unbelievable.

"We're really happy to see that because the idea is to try and get these kids active. While kids don't really enjoy walking or running up the peak, it is great to see that they enjoy cycling."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Damon has been a big driver of this, being chairman of Sport Hawke's Bay, he was very much behind this."

Harvey, chairman of Sports Hawke's Bay, said he hoped it would become one of the best Mountain bike park trail network in New Zealand.

"What hasn't happened yet is that tourists wanting to mountain bike are unaware of what is one of the most unique mountain bike parks. I see a massive untapped tourism opportunity."

Chairman of the Hawke's Bay Mountain Bike Club, Scott Richardson, said they had over 2000 members and oversaw just about all mountain bike related activity in Hawke's Bay.

"It is significant because it shows the level of interest and engagement in mountain biking in our community."

He said Te Mata Peak was "tracking to become a world class destination".

"There was a lot of visionary individuals in Hawke's bay that have lobbied for four years to make it become a world class destination. It's not quite there yet and there's big plans and ambitions but it's one step at a time."

"It's great to see there's another recreational aspect to Te Mata Peak because it's really what it's all about. It's getting the most out of that hill and certainly it was always destined to become great for mountain biking and it certainly will.

"But it certainly is a long winded process and certainly it is attracting new riders and the plan is to have tracks that suit most levels of riding from easy to advanced. There's also a massive tourist loop to be built which may be next year and that will be great for tourism as well as for locals and certainly it's very exciting.

"It is significant. The aim is to have it world class so you've got a phenomenal hill with great views and a lot of history and spectacular views and

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We know as mountain bikers we have to be respectful of the history and develop trails that blend in with the natural environment but also we need to co-exist with the walking community."

Mountain biking has gained a lot of traction over the years.

"In New Zealand, there is massive growth and Te Mata Peak is getting used daily and some days there will be hundreds of riders on there so it is a significant resource for our community and also mountain bike tourism."

Mr Richardson said they hoped a bike wash facility would be built as part of a tourist loop, as bikes were reaching the five to ten thousand dollar mark.

"We've got great mountain biking options at both sides of Napier and Havelock North, which is fantastic so it's enhancing what we have already and will certainly add to the reputation of Hawke's bay as being a great place to come mountain biking."

"There's lots of very dedicated individuals who have contributed to the development. There is more to do yet and a lot of us are volunteers but there's been a lot of time, effort and energy to get this developed and without those people this wouldn't be happening and that's a great thing for the community.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We are community minded and it already has and will only become more so, a great asset for Hawke's bay."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawkes Bay Today

Praise for restaurant's response after former deputy mayor dies at family dinner

Premium
Opinion

Gail Pope: Robert Louis Stevenson’s Samoan home shot by Hawke’s Bay photographer

Hawkes Bay Today

The 2.2% dream: What we would need to sacrifice to get the lowest rate rise in NZ


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Praise for restaurant's response after former deputy mayor dies at family dinner
Hawkes Bay Today

Praise for restaurant's response after former deputy mayor dies at family dinner

His family say he will leave a legacy of kindness, and he was surrounded by it to the end.

18 Jul 07:18 PM
Premium
Premium
Gail Pope: Robert Louis Stevenson’s Samoan home shot by Hawke’s Bay photographer
Opinion

Gail Pope: Robert Louis Stevenson’s Samoan home shot by Hawke’s Bay photographer

18 Jul 07:00 PM
The 2.2% dream: What we would need to sacrifice to get the lowest rate rise in NZ
Hawkes Bay Today

The 2.2% dream: What we would need to sacrifice to get the lowest rate rise in NZ

18 Jul 06:00 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP