Ngamwahine

a world first mountain bike traverse of the Leyland-O'Brian tramway, Ngamwahine track from Whakamarama Road end to Ngamwahine Lodge.

The kaimais are our home stomping ground. They occupy quite a bit of the spare time of some of us. Sometimes we get some dumb ideas as we wander about these bush clad hills. Some of us, that is.

One of those ideas was this world first mountain bike ride.

 

Actually, it's a brilliant ride for part of the way like these first three, where we're following an old tramway.

Most rivers in the Kaimais dig deep ravines or gullies. Not the Ngamwahine, not here anyway. It's flows like lace over the plateau. It's what make the Leyland-O'Brian tramway interesting; views like the one pictured, of the river gently wondering along the plateau.

The ride follows the tramway and is nice and level but as all riders know, what goes along soon goes up - or down.

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The tramway was used to haul timber out of the Kaimai forest which was ruthlessly logged right up until the 1950's. You don't spot many really big trees. What's left is mainly Tawa and Rewarewa. Not that mountain bikers complain about such things.

Before long the Ngamwahine succombs to temptation and plunges down a deep ravine. The trail then follows the ridge and the riding on this tramping track gets tricky. Real tricky.

Soon it's a scramble down to the river at its new lower level but the scenery doesn't get any worse.

There's a slippery river crossing, another scrample - this time up - and some more real interesting riding to Ngamwahine Lodge, the four wheel drive track, the two wheel drive track and then the Kaimai highway.

These photos record the very first mountain bike traverse of this part of the Kaimais on 31 May 2003.