Wakefield community opens new MTB park

The first trail in Wakefield’s newest bike park is just two weeks away from opening, with a family fun day complete with sausage sizzle kicking things off on Saturday 3 December.

Buckwheater Bends is the first of five trails to be completed and is ideal for beginners.

Organiser Kate West says while the other trails are still a work in progress, riders of all abilities will love Buckwheater’s downhill slope.

“It’s around 1.6km uphill followed by 3km downhill, so it’s an easy, fun trail for people to try out.”

The trails in Kainui bike park have been carved out by a handful of volunteers over the last year on a 131ha forestry block adjacent to Tunnicliffe Forest just south of Wakefield.

Kate says she thought there would be more offers of help as people love the idea of the park, but no one seems to want to get their hands dirty.

“It was so surprising because after the floods, people flocked to help at Silvan and Wairoa Gorge bike parks, so there are willing volunteers out there. And having more hands at Kainui would mean we could get the other trails finished sooner.”

With a team of just 16 regular volunteers, largely made up of Kate’s own family and friends, the clearing has been tough but rewarding.

“It’s not back breaking work at all, but there is a lot to clear so when my kids and I come home after a day at Kainui we’re exhausted.

"But it’s so satisfying to ride the trails knowing just how much work we put into it.”

Even better, the trails have been named after some of the people who gave their time to help.

“We named the Hart Starter trail after Wayne Hart, who is in his 70s. He actually created that trail in his digger. It’s on a bit of a hill, too, so the play on words works.”

Buckwheater Bends was named after volunteers Sam and Lisa Buckingham.

The trail named after Kate’s own family is Way Down West and will be the next to open.

“It’s on the westerly side, so it’s perfect.”

Once completed, Kainui will have five trails all over 3km in length, except for one trail which is over 6km. These trails will be graded 2 and 3, which are beginner and intermediate.

“This is a first for the Nelson Tasman regions as most trails around our region are of higher grades or do not fully cater to beginners. This area will be fantastic for all ages and levels of mountain bikers and will be especially good for beginners and families.”

OneFortyOne granted the community access to the forestry block in 2021 and left the volunteers to plan, organise and manage the entire project.

Communications and community relations manager Kylie Reeves says they would like to commend Kate and the Kainui Bike Park team for taking ownership of the task.

“The volunteers have donated hundreds of hours, creating a network of mountain bike trails the whole community can enjoy. It’s an outstanding place for mountain bike riding.”

Along with providing access to the Kainui Forest, OneFortyOne provided seed funding of $22,500 to facilitate development of the area. These funds have been used to purchase a digger.

“The Kainui Forest marks its centenary in 2022, and we can’t think of a better way to celebrate. The OneFortyOne team will be there on the day cooking sausages on the BBQ and raising funds for further development of the bike park,” Kylie says.