The Winter Mountain Bike Classic offers 15km, 30km, E Bike and 45km mountain bike courses. Photo / Supplied
The magic of Rotorua's Whakarewarewa Forest will be celebrated with the launch of a new event, the Winter Forest Festival this weekend.
The festival is replacing the Winter Mountain Bike Series and features running, walking, gravel road cycling and mountain biking events.
NDuro Events director Tim Farmer said the new
festival was a celebration of the forest, as mountain biking and running are the most popular recreational uses of the unique terrain.
"The key objectives of the festival are to enhance the physical and mental wellbeing of our community by means of physical activity in a positive environment. We are also striving to have a positive economic impact for the Rotorua economy during the low season," Farmer said.
"The festival has exceeded our forecast by 109 per cent with nearly 4000 attendees over two days in the world famous Whakarewarewa Forest in Rotorua, without any major partners supporting the inaugural event."
