The Mighty Waikato River and some of its trails

Sheryl, Bill and Wendy on the Trail 

Brother Graeme had organised a small group of Riders to do the 70km Te Awa Cycle Trail which travels  from Ngaruawahia (north of Hamilton), down through Hamilton and on to Karipiro ( south of Cambridge) on E Bikes mid-February. Brother Wayne and ourselves having E bikes also got an invite.
Timing worked well for us as we were about to spend a bit of time on the Waikato River with G&C’s friend (and fellow Motorhomer) Wendy, checking out some of the lovely reserves to camp along and do bits of the Waikato River trail.

The "A" Team
Graeme, Wendy, Wayne, Sheryl, Diane, Kevin, Bill, Mel and Claire

The planned weekend was in the middle of our stay on the river so it was easy to meet up in Cambridge at a POP (Park Over Place) near the Podium Lodge where the others were all staying. The Lodge hire out the E bikes and offered  a shuttle service to Ngaruawahia, which all 9 of us took advantage of.  

The trail just coming into Hamilton

Bill a little lost..........

Posers Corner - sorry you aren't in it Wendy

The Perry Cycle bridge

1....2....3....... Dare you 😏

When you organise an event a month early you are guessing what the weather will do but G must have had the weather Gods on his side as we had the perfect weekend to do our 2 day trail. Saturday was the Ngaruawahia to Cambridge leg and Sunday the Cambridge to Karapiro and return.

The Lodge gave us maps but unfortunately we didn’t listen very well as the section of trail from Hamilton Gardens to Cambridge isn’t complete as yet, so after a bit of confusion, not helped by the lovely lunch & beers at The Good George Brewery, and Google - we managed to find our way back to the Lodge for a quick refreshing beer and showers before getting picked up and taken to the Five Stags for dinner. Had a lovely meal and returned not too late into the evening for us all to rest up for the second part of the trail the next morning.

Sunday took us to the  Cafe at Lake Karapiro for a delicious Brunch via a mostly off road cycle way. It was good to see lots of families on the trail too. Almost panicked when they were going to prevent us eating at the Cafe unless we paid the $15 / head entrance fee for the power  boat racing which none of us were interested in. But thankfully one of the Organisers felt sorry for us and let us through, whom G&C rewarded later as we left with some delicious food from the cafe.

Our return to Cambridge finished for us at the Clubhouse Sports Bar at the Cambridge Racecourse with a cold drink and debrief  before 6 returned to Auckland and Waihi Beach. I think everyone was happy with their E Bike experience but agreed there was nothing better than your own bike (if you had one) and get it modified as all the bikes didn’t suit all bodies. Bill ……. Could be a job for you???

Either side of the weekend we were parked up along the Waikato River mainly in the Little Waipa Reserve which is on the Waikato Cycle Trail with Wendy. The weather was amazing – mostly 30 degree days so it was always pleasant to cool off in the river. Bill & I managed to get out for a paddle up the river and return one day – nothing too adventurous, but at least got the kayak off the roof of the car.

We also rode the 12km return of the Waikato Rail trail to the Arapuni Dam and Swing Bridge one of the days.  Back in the other direction to Pokaiwhenua another day where the trail commences. Quite scenic following the river most of the way and quite busy especially on Waitangi Day.  It was certainly lovely to be able to just drop into the river on our return.

Wendy had good friends Mary & mother Rosemary from an earlier life when she was living in Hamilton, living in Maungatautari  near their ex farm looking out over the river. Mary and her family are a amazing people who have done so much for their area, including older sister Kate who now manages the nearby property that has been restored to native bush and created a world class equestrian facilities built under the present Owner who likes his privacy so we didn’t get to meet obviously but did get shown over the property which was amazing. Another Gem in the Waikato.

The view looking out over the river through a lovely Fuschia climber at Rosemary's

The week earlier when we first met Mary and Mary’s mother Rosemary (now 87) who was incredible – still happy to host anyone who drops in to stay as we did one night with our motorhomes.  

Bit of pressure in the evenings!

The views across to the River

A little paddle to see what what was around the bend!

Mary launched her boat just after dusk and took us up the Pokaiwhenua River where we saw the most amazing Glow Worm site ( along with a couple of tour operators and their clients – but thankfully they were leaving just as we arrived). Bill and I have never seen such a display before – you felt like you were in some amazing fantasy world full of Elves and Fairies!
We enjoyed a 7km walk around the Maungatautari Mountain Sanctuary which is an ecological area surrounded by the worlds longest pest-proof fence. Lovely bush walks but sadly not a lot of bird life at the time of day we came in. Such a disappointment for Wendy. 

So our two weeks on the Waikato sadly came to its end as we needed to return to Waihi Beach and prepare for our 3 week Odyssey in the Far North with the Fab 5 whom we did East Cape last year with. The weather has been amazing – hopefully it continues although I’m sure the Farmers are not thinking the same!