On the right track

Noticing a lack of gentle mountain bike tracks in Golden Bay, Beth Burdett and Phil Castle decided to do something about it. Their gift to the bay is creating a buzz with plenty of benefits.

Words: Alistair Hughes

Cradled between the ranges of Kahurangi, New Zealand’s second largest National Park, and the Tasman Sea, Golden Bay is a remarkably beautiful part of New Zealand. Sweeping northwards from the Abel Tasman National Park to Farewell Spit in an arc of unspoilt shoreline, this region has also long offered rich opportunities for outdoor activity. Tramping, rock climbing, sailing, kayaking and caving were all well catered for in this glorious setting-but there was a notable exception. The often winding, narrow and surprisingly busy roads, (particularly in the summer season), turned road cycling into a danger sport, while opportunities for cyclists were very limited.

When Wellington software developers Phil Castle and Beth Burdett moved to Takaka in 2002 they quickly became aware of this shortcoming.

“There were technical trails like the Rameka and Parapara, but for people who didn’t enjoy riding at that grade there was nothing, and the roads were not safe,” Phil recalls.

Having seen recreational areas gradually disappear to housing in Wellington, the couple fostered a strong belief that ‘wild spaces’ needed to be preserved from development.

Setting up the Rata-Tui Restoration Trust, Beth and Phil bought a "chunk of land” in 2010, a 48 hectare tract of Takaka’s Motupipi Hill. They wanted to use the heavily-wooded terrain to demonstrate their strongly held belief that a conservation ethic can co-exist with a recreational focus.

“Especially biking," maintains Beth. “At that point, the Department of Conservation (DOC) were opposed to mountainbike activity on DOC land. So we wanted to show that you could create sensibly ride-able trails and still have an unaffected conservation area. And now DOC fully supports mountainbiking, many DOC workers seem to have become cyclists themselves, and they’re working on good trails throughout the country.”

In contract to existing trails in Golden Bay, the couple envisaged a gentler, family-friendly network of tracks designed for lighter use. Buying land and spending many years of hard work creating trails, just to make it all available to everyone free of charge, seems like an incredibly altruistic gesture. But it is an observation which Beth and Phil quickly shrug off.

“We were wondering who to leave our inheritance money to, as we don’t have kids,” explains Phil. “We thought about a conservation charity, and then the next step we took was deciding to not wait until we’re gone, but giving it now, and that way we can guide the use of that money.”

Beth provides an additional reason: “I believe a community is as strong as the commitment that people put into it. Developing Motupipi Hill was something that we were in a position to do, our business was going well, so we decided to do something good from that.”

Having purchased their hill, (protected in perpetuity in a charitable trust), the couple now had to literally start making tracks. There were existing logging roads, which at least gave Beth and Phil a starting point for their exploration. “We didn’t actually build the first track for about two years,” recalls Phil. “We felt we needed to get a feel for the terrain, so developed a few walking routes through to get an idea of the lie of the land.”

The first track to be created was ‘The Knoll' in 2012, an ascent through native forest to a headland which rewards with a spectacular panoramic view of the Motupipi estuary and the entire sweep of Golden Bay beyond. Cyclists pausing here would never realise that Phil had to bash his way through above head-height gorse to create this path. The conservation ethic which he and Beth hold to helped decide the route.

“We were planting of a whole lot of northern rata and needed a good track to bring a wheel barrow in. This is why a lot of conservation and recreation can be complementary: to get into an area and plant it out, you need good access.” The tracks created for planting can then be adapted into cycle trails, but this is no simple feat.

“People think we just charge through the bush with a spade, but an awful lot of planning is involved.”

A couple of years later, the next track established was the Grand Traverse (taking its name from a climbing route on Mount Cook). A need for a loop track saw the creation of La Rambla.

Phil consulted Top of the South aerial maps of the area. “I could see right away where the contours were the most easy and was able to plot a track. But I also spent months walking back and forth with an inclinometer, placing tape around trees at eye height so that I could measure the distance and angle.”

Beth also emphasises the importance of preserving native trees, and due to an initial expensive digger experience, avoiding established pines as well. “So we’ve refined our technique as we’ve gone on.”

Another important element in planning the trails of Motupipi Hill was help from mountain-biking legend Jonathan Kennett, who pioneered the sport in New Zealand with his two brothers back in the 1980s.

As well as spurring Beth and Phil on with his development of the nearby Rameka Valley mountain bike trails, he provided invaluable technical advice.

“Jonathan gave us this wonderful little A4 sheet with pictures and diagrams on gradients, and how to build a corner. This became our bible,” says Beth.

Many ensuing years of hard work have resulted in fifteen cross-country trails ranging from grade 2 to 3, covering a distance of approximately 10 km through regenerating native bush.

“Building tracks is a lot of fun,” says Phil, “and I try to do as much of it myself as I can.”

Runners, walkers and cyclists, ranging from lycra-clad devotees to families with young children in tow, regularly enjoy Beth and Phil’s gift to the community. And indeed, everyone who benefits from Motupipi Hill is given an opportunity to help, as Beth and Phil hold regular ‘planting days’. Volunteers can spend a happy few hours maintaining tracks, clearing ground and bedding in plants which will eventually become future forest as part of Motupipi Hill’s legacy. To date, over 4500 trees have been planted.

“I can’t imagine being part of a community and not contributing to it.” Beth explains.

“Also, seeing areas of land where forests are disappearing, we’re doing what we can to reverse that in a small way on Motupipi Hill,” Phil adds.

“And besides, we love riding there!”

Motupipi Hill Community Cycle Park - Need to know:

1. Parking is available at Cassidy’s Corner at the corner of Abel Tasman Drive and Rototai Road.
2. Motupipi Hill access is approximately one kilometre along the Takaka cycle trail to Burnside Road, and along the farm track at the end.
3. Please respect the sections where you are asked to dismount; this is for your safety and the protection of the track.
4. There is a route map at the entrance and multiple maps posted on trees throughout the hill.
5. The tracks are ideal for families and novice riders, as well as walkers and runners.
6. To protect native birdlife, dogs are not permitted on Motupipi Hill.