The best way to tackle Ohakune's new bike/walk trail (shhh #localtips)

Stage 1 of Ruapehu's new Te Ara Mangawhero trail is open at last! Here's what it looks like - and what it used to look like, when it was just an old footprint through the bush.

Ruapehu might be plagued by ski field issues, mill closures and a lack of snow, but there’s one brightly shining star in the sky, and its name is Te Ara Mangawhero.

It’s a bike path (shared use trail) that will eventually run from the Massey University Alpine Club hut near Tūroa to Ohakune, and one day will link up with Te Hangaruru (the missing link, which will join Horopito with Erua), and punters, in this mad and magical future we dream of, will be able to bike, walk or run all the way from Tūroa to Waimarino* National Park.

* yes it’s had a name change but for clarity I like to call it both names until we adjust to change, which we all acknowledge is hard.

Te Ara Mangawhero follows the Mangawhero Stream and uses sections of the footprint of the old Bennett and Punch bush tramway, which was used to transport timber through the forest in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Eventually, logging operations ceased and our thinking around conservation evolved (Te Ara Mangawhero is in a national park / dual World Heritage area), and the land began to regrow and recover. Still, little remnants of the old footprint remained - I’ll get to that later. But first - this is the joy we now know as Te Ara Mangawhero, stage one. I’ll also give you some intel on where to go in order to do the trail in the best direction for optimum views of Ruapehu. Views like this:

Ideally start the trail from just above the Powderkeg, on the other side of the train tracks at the Junction (look for the signs near the intersection of Railway Row with Ohakune Mountain Road). You’ll repeat this early section of track on the way back, but the rest is more or less a loop, at the moment. It’s best to go clockwise, so you’re looking up at Ruapehu when you’re biking on the western side of the Ohakune Mountain Road, and hence you are smacked right in the face with those stunning views.

It’s not entirely clear how to go clockwise, though, so watch out for this sign below, just after Te Ara Mangawhero joins briefly with the Mangawhero Forest Loop walking trail. When you see this sign, don’t follow it towards Tūroa, but instead go straight ahead.

In a few seconds you’ll come to the road. When you see this crossing below, go across the road and follow the tarseal up past the campground. You’re now going clockwise (well done you!) and it’s pretty straightforward from here.

You’ll see bridges over the Mangawhero River like this one, below.

Bonus points if you can ferret out Ye Olde Ford by the Ford, an old flatbed truck embedded in the ground. Hint: it’s not on the track - you’ll need to go hunting.

Eventually you’ll cross the road again and enter the bush, where you’ll enjoy sections of blissful track like this one below, fringed with friendly trees to wave you on your way. You’re on the old tram line. Much exciting!

So what did this all look like before? A few years ago I walked the trail with a couple of local adventure enthusiasts, Mac and Jezza, back when the trail was just a footprint you could vaguely follow along through the bush.

Sometimes you could make out the old footprint quite easily, and sometimes it required a little bit of creative navigation. This cutting through the earth was distinctive.

There’s now a bridge over these water pipes (Ohakune has a lot of random water infrastructure lurking in the bush).

And on through the tangle of undergrowth, vines and trees, following the historic thread of logging operations that used to sustain the Ohakune economy.

We also found traces of the logging operations’ workers - old bottles, corrugated iron from derelict huts, a bathtub, and even the wrought iron frame of an old bed.

Jezza did his bit for conservation and hugged a tree.

Back in the day when operations were in full swing, the tramline looked a lot tidier. Here’s a snapshot from the Auckland Weekly News that illustrates what it looked like.

Our adventures that day didn’t end there. We explored a disused dam, checked out the mossy floating top of the tarn at Rochfort Crater, and got chased by a wild boar. (Read my forthcoming book on the backcountry history of Tongariro National Park for the full story of that particular episode; publication details (release date June) to come soon.)

Get into it! Te Ara Mangawhero, roughly 12km by bike or on foot, the best fun you’ll have on two wheels. Hire a bike from Kune Shuttles, go for a climb at Jezza’s indoor climbing wall Vertigo Climbing afterwards, or roll on to a local cafe such as Frank’s on Mangawhero, the Mountain Rocks or grab a coffee at Opus Fresh at the railway station to pump up your tyres for the ride and help support the Ruapehu economy.