Mountain Biking Taupo: Great Lake Trail - Should you do it?

April 19, 2020 Alexandra Diethelm

When thinking of mountain biking Taupo, the Great Lake Trail instantly comes to mind. The Waihaha section can be challenging for some (like me). Here’s why you should still give it a go.

With every pedal stroke, my legs cramp up more and more until I have to stop and take a break. I’m way behind Chris and Mike who are totally in their element. Frustrated, I mutter curses at myself. Why did I let myself go like this? I should’ve worked out more! Now I have about 12 more kilometres to ride and all I really want is be done and enjoy the view.

Great Lake Trail Sections

We’re mountain biking Taupo on the Waihaha Trail section of the Great Lake Trail. The trail is part of the massive New Zealand Cycle Trail network that spans the whole length of New Zealand.

The Great Lake Trail is one of the newer additions to the Great Rides and is 83km long in total. To ride all the trails, it would probably take around 2-3 days. Luckily, though, the trail is divided into 3.5 sections.

Kawakawa section starts at Whangamata Road car park and leads to Kinloch via Kawakawa Bay in 19km.

The W2K section (Kinloch to Whakaipo Bay) is 13km long with the add-on trail of the Headland Loop you will get up to 22km.

Waihaha Trail, the one we’re riding, is a 30km long trail from Waihaha Bridge to Waihora Bay. It’s the trail that’s furthest away from Taupo and we drive to Kinloch where we’re met by Ted from Tread Routes in front of a massive trail map.

Ted explains to us the what to look out for on the trail, how long the bike ride would take, what to look out for and when the water taxi would pick us up from Waihora Bay. He then packs our bikes on his trailer and drives us to Waihaha Bridge where our adventure begins.

Riding Waihaha to Waihora Bay

At first, the trail leads through the bush and soon inclines up a hill. I’m starting to realise why this trail is classified as a Grade 3 (intermediate). Because it’s purpose-built for biking, it’s not overly technical. But man, it is steep and has a lot of mean curves. As an experienced biker like Chris, you will love it but for me, it was often too steep and I almost fell backwards with my bike (because I was too stubborn to get off and push).

The most frustrating part for me is that I’m not able to fully enjoy the beautiful landscape around me. We change from bush to forest to lake views and looked down to a beautiful waterfall in the distance (I’m still wondering if there’s a way to get there).

Just over halfway through the ride, the trail opens up to a vast view over Lake Taupo, a volcanic caldera and the largest lake in New Zealand. It’s an overcast December day but you can still see how clear and blue the lake is.

Chris is waiting for me at the viewpoint and tries to encourage me to pedal through the pain. Since it’s a one-way ride I can’t really give up anyway. So we keep going, a little slower now and with plenty of stops. As we get closer to Waihora Bay there’s more downhill than uphills and I’m starting to enjoy mountain biking a lot more again.

The last bit down to Waihora Bay is stunning. The landscape becomes more tropical and the drop towards the beach is accompanied by a waterfall tumbling down the volcanic cliffs into a stream that joins the lake.

Once on the beach, Mike tells us the taxi boat had already left without us. We call them and they tell us to wait as they’d come back in about 30 minutes. The unexpected break gives me enough time to recover and explore the little beach for a bit. It feels more like we’re on a small island somewhere in Thailand and I wish we were stuck for a little while longer.

Lo and behold, the taxi boat picks us up shortly after and we’re on our way back to Kinloch via Kawakawa Bay.

I’m not a competitive biker and enjoy it a lot more when I get some physical challenge but at the same time get to take in my surroundings. The nature and bush on the Great Lake Trail is definitely a big reason why you should give it a go! With enough fitness to master a Grade 3 trail with a mountain bike, I would’ve absolutely loved the Waihaha section of the Great Lake Trail and I know that Chris and Mike did.

One thing that definitely can’t be beat is that amazing feeling of achievement and pride. Yes, it was hard, but I actually finished my first ever 30km on a Grade 3 mountain bike trail!!

I will definitely give the Great Lake Trail Taupo another try once I’m a bit fitter.

A little Great Lake Trail and mountain biking Taupo FAQ

What are the details of the Waihaha trail again?

The Waihaha section of the Great Lake Trail Taupo starts at Waihaha Bridge. It’s 30 kilometres long and a Grade 3 (intermediate) on the NZ cycle tours scale. According to Ted of Tread Routes, it’s considered an ‘easy’ Grade 3 as there are not technical bits.

great lake trail map, taken from nzcycletrail.com

How long does the Waihaha trail take from start to end?

It should take you about 4 hours to complete the trail, including breaks. Your shuttle drops you at Waihaha Bridge at approximately 9am and the water taxi will pick you ap at Waihora Bay at around 1pm.

darwin almost had me there. getting closer to the end of great lake trail

Do I really have to book a shuttle and water taxi?

Yes. Technically, you can have someone drop you off at Waihaha car park but since it’s a one-way ride you will need a water taxi to pick you up.

Tread Routes offers a package that includes the transfer from Kinloch to Waihaha car park and the water taxi. If needed, they also have bikes for hire, both hardtails and full suspension.

Can I add more trails of the Great Lake Trail to the Waihaha section if I’m not tired yet?

Yes. Just tell the driver of your water taxi you’d like to disembark in Kawakawa Bay. From there, you’ll have an additional 9.2km of bike trail that will bring you back to Kinloch.

re-energized and silly on the great lake trail water taxi

Is there easier mountain biking in Taupo than the Great Lake Trail?

For sure! Taupo is a paradise for bikers of all abilities (together with Rotorua). You can ride along the shores of Lake Taupo on the walkway, from the town centre to Huka Falls, to Aratiatia Dam on the Rotary Ride or head to Craters Bike Park, right next to the geothermal are called Craters Of The Moon.

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