Since 2021, Summit Forests has opened Whitehills Forests to members of the Kerikeri Mountain Bike Club. It gives us great pleasure to see our local community playing in and enjoying the private forest we own and manage, 8km north of Waipapa.
Most days, often after work, you’ll find members of the 180-strong mountain bike club weaving their way through the pine trees and native forest, navigating hand-crafted and machine-built tracks suitable for intermediate to expert riders across a range of terrain. Members of the Kerikeri Mountain Bike Club range from toddlers who ride shotgun seat on their parents’ bikes through to tweens, teens and some passionate 60+ riders.
“Summit Forests have been amazing to work with — they’re super supportive and seem to understand exactly what we might need. We feel very privileged to have access to such an incredibly special place to ride and call our club home,” says Kerikeri Mountain Bike Club secretary, Odette Yates. “We love that Summit Forests work hard to protect the natural environments in the forest and make us feel so welcome.”
“Supporting local communities and giving back and sharing where we can is really important to our team at Summit Forests,” says Riki Green, Northland regional manager. “It can be tricky juggling different recreational activities within forests. The mountain bike area is closed to allow for hunting on Wednesdays and the first Saturday of each month. We are committed to the management and protection of native plants and animals, with kiwi monitoring, kauri protection and pest control. It’s cool to see the mountain bikers maintaining and making new tracks and enjoying their time out in nature.”
If you’re interested in joining the Kerikeri Mountain Bike Club, see www.kerikerimtbclub.co.nz for more information.