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Taniwha at Rotorua

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Taniwha at Rotorua

Staying down-under for this week's Tuesday Trail but jumping over the Tasman Sea from Australia to New Zealand. Located at the top of the North Island, Rotorua is one of NZ's most epic mountain bike locations, and has just had a huge couple of weeks hosting their now annual Rotorua Bike Festival. The trails carve their way through the Whakarewarewa Forest on the southern outskirts of Rotorua town, and the whole trail system ranks as one of the oldest in the country.

The Taniwha Downhill Trail is steep, technical, and fast, with optional big jumps and drops - basically what you'd expect from an international level downhill race track. The scene of various NZ national events over the years including the Oceanias in 2003, the Taniwha trail is now the principal venue for club and national races. Thanks to the great efforts of the Rotorua Mountain Bike Club, who work tirelessly to restore and maintain all the trails in tip top condition, the locals have a world-class weather-proof downhill race track right on their doorstep.

This video is pretty cool too - one of a series produced by the RideRotorua.com team featuring their best trails. Local policeman and president of the Descend Mountain Biking team Dave Hamilton (apparently known as the Fatman!), demos the excellent grub on offer at the Pig & Whistle Pub before ripping down the trail followed by Chris Southwood and Mick Ross who do their best to keep up on trail bikes!

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