Boobies

Akatarawa Forest, Wellington, New Zealand

Jungle rumble down from Titi to near the bottom of Big Ring Boulevard.

Advanced

Bike and Foot

This track offers a mixture of conditions, providing challanges aplenty.

The first (top) part is a gentle cruise through the bush. But it soon degenerates into a series of boggy patches – though most have a ridable bypass. The bogs dry up just as the track heads down a ridge and becomes much steeper.

This area of the Akatarawa Forest is popular with motocross riders, with this track being no exception. Consequently, the middle section of the track degenerates into essentially a continuous rut, occasionally of bike-swallowing proportions. In this middle section, the track surface is a mix of deeply rutted clay and bare rock. Parts of this section are very steep and quite technical. There are also three ancient massive trees fallen across the track – one of which is at chest height, while the others can be ridden under.

The last 1.5km is quite different to the preceeding track. It has a much more moderate gradient and a firm surface, making for a nice flowing piece of single track – apart from some creek crossings. The first creek crossing is a sharp drop and climb, while the other two are less severe. The second creek crossing appears out of nowhere, so watch out for it. The third, and final, creek crossing is only 50m from the T-intersection with Big Ring Boulevard. Much of this last section is lined with ToeToe, which has a tendency to cut any exposed flesh that it gets caught in, like between fingers, so take care to avoid that.

The top (northern) end starts from Titi, 2.8km east of the top of Perhams.

The bottom (southern) end meets Big Ring Boulevard, two-thirds of the way down and about 1.3km north of Norm's Crossing.

3.62km

Single track

19 Apr 2009 by Ian

Ian