Rotoma day trip

a mountain bike foray into the land of the giant millipedes and a swim in Lake Rotoma

We accidently interrupted the afternoon siesta of this short tempered millipede just long enough to take it's photo. Then we carried on biking down the track.

It's not a very difficult track and the entire ride can be done in an hour if you're fit. We took our time. Well, to be honest we took our time up hill. As for downhill - each person has their own approach.

Brett, on the left, has a unique approach to downhills: try and pass Stevie. But that's impossible.

The ride is less than hour's drive from Tauranga through Matata, past Kawarau, a few kilometers before Lake Rotoma, in the bush to the east of the road. It rates a mention in the Kennett brothers' Classsic NZ Mountain Bike Rides.

And it is a nice ride through regenerating native forest. Here we are on an old loggers road, now used by bikers and walkers. These pictures were taken over the Christmas holidays 2003. It was fine, sunny and hot enough to make a swim in the lake seem like a good idea so that's what we decided to do.

Rotoma is a small, clear lake, ideal for a cooling off swim. According to Brett who is probably the spot on the right of the picture, it was warmer than the sea.

We all agreed to come back next year...