Te Awa River Ride, Waikato

Last update on Sun., May. 8, 2011

Go to http://te-awa.org.nz for more information.

The trail commences at Ngaruawahia in the north, and passing through the communities of Horotiu, Hamilton, Cambridge and Karapiro before extending to link with the Waikato River Trail at Horahora on the shores of Lake Karapiro. The primary feature of the landscape along the cycleway will be New Zealand's longest river, the Waikato. The surrounding landscape is a mix of farmland, exotic and native vegetation. There are initiatives to enhance the native vegetation along various parts of the route.

Although never far from existing infrastructure (e.g. bus routes in the vicinity of Ngaruawahia and Hamilton, Hamilton Airport, road access including SH1, accommodation, shops, wineries), the proposed route will open up to visitors some very scenic sections of the river not currently accessible to the public.

The general topography of the land is gentle, resulting in a route that will be easy to ride. The novice cyclist will be well catered for throughout Te Awa. The grade description of Te Awa will fall under Grade Two – ‘easy' with mostly smooth trail (2.5m wide & concrete in many places) and only some gentle climbs. The width of the track will also allow for double file which will bring a social component to the ride for families and cyclists of all experience levels.

Te Awa has been designed to appeal to a very broad cross section of market segments. Te Awa will be highly accessible especially in Hamilton City and Cambridge, it will have an easy contour, and excellent surface throughout the vast majority of the ride, and it is to be primarily traffic free.