Why can’t a bicycle stand on its own? Because it’s two-tired. Why did the bicycle fall asleep? Because it was wheel-y tired. If you groaned and rolled your eyes – congratulations, you’re ready for the Bike Park.
Tucked away at the end of Moewai Road, next to the water treatment station, lies one of the best-kept secrets in Whitianga: the Bike Park – part adventure playground, part nature reserve, part community hub.
Tracie Collier and grandson Luke
The park welcomes everyone – kids, dogs, kids with dogs, adults with kids and dogs, and adults who just need some fresh air and an excuse to act like a kid again.
Dogs, however, must come with a responsible adult attached.
Scattered around the grounds you’ll find colourful playhouses, quirky climbing structures, picnic tables, and a native arboretum that’ll make you feel like Dora the Explorer. It’s the kind of place where the kids disappear into the bush and you don’t panic – you just pour another cup of tea.
Bikes can be borrowed, Just please return them. The helmet too. Yes, both. Have a go at the mini BMX track, or for the more serious riders, there are 10 kilometres of trails winding through native bush and towering kauri trees. Each trail is helpfully rated by fun factor, mud potential, difficulty – and what can only be described as the holey-moley-I-hope-your-accident-insurance-is-up-to-date scale. This is not the place for colour-coordinated lycra.
The Whitianga Bike Park was the brainchild of Bruce Chambers – serious cyclist, triathlete, and a man with a vision. The vision was – a safe place where kids could discover the pure joy of riding bikes. In 2004, Noel Hewlett and his brother Ray rolled up their sleeves and did most of the grunt work to build it. Then in 2016, Jon Maud took over the management and running of the park – and the park hasn’t looked back since, mainly because looking back while cycling is inadvisable.
Noel Hewitt
A dedicated team of volunteers keeps the place going, spending their time gardening, weeding, pruning, planting, creating, maintaining, and fixing – with the enthusiasm of people who genuinely love what they do.
They also run a side hustle selling firewood, which brings in much-needed funds. Local schools use the park for conservation education, Search and Rescue run training out there, and the Fire Brigade does too.
There’s no power at the park, so everyone takes turns bringing the essentials: a thermos, sausage rolls, and – if their partners are in a good mood – home-made muffins (men can make muffins). The banter flows freely, the jokes are terrible, and nobody would have it any other way. Why don’t bicycle riders ever win arguments? They always back-pedal.
If you use the facilities, dropping a gold coin in the box goes a long way. The park is also a great spot for children’s birthday parties, and there’s a barbecue available if you bring your own gas bottle. For group bookings, a minimum contribution of $35 applies, payable to bank account 38-9002-0611973-00. As much as we’d all like one, there’s no such thing as a free ride.
So get on ya bike, mate – come on down to the Bike Park. Borrow a bike, borrow a helmet, let the kids loose, let the dog run, and breathe in that native bush air. And if you fancy getting involved, the volunteers will welcome you with open arms – gardening gloves, a hard time, and morning tea included.
I asked my bike for advice once. It told me to just roll with it.
