Whakarewarewa Forest Loop. A must do MTB ride in Rotorua

I mountain bike regularly in Rotorua but have never done the forest loop trail. It is only a grade 2 which is probably why I never did it. It does however have some amazing trails with some awesome views over lake Rotorua as well as the Blue and Green lake. I believe this is a must do mountain bike route in Rotorua for all skill levels.

[@TheMaoriThatBikes]

Ka pai e hoa! I can respect your honest attempts at Te Reo. I'll never fault anyone for trying to work on pronunciation because māori names do matter and it's worth getting them right. This is another great video showcasing a popular loop in the Whakarewarewa Forest. Chur

[@bestdayevermtb2]

I must admit I did cringe at the video watching it back. Maybe we could do a video together one day and you could do the correct pronunciation for me.

[@TheMaoriThatBikes]

@@bestdayevermtb2 sounds like a great plan there bro. I'll be sure to hollah at you should I see you in Vegas next time

[@pebe9278]

@@bestdayevermtb2 Good on you for wanting to use te reo.The best place to start is just getting your vowels right, which is very simple: the sounds of A E I O U are as they sound in the sentence "Are there three or two?" Just remember that is the only way to pronounce the vowels, and when there is a line above the vowel, that vowel is held for longer. And if you sound dipthongs as the two constituent vowels you'll get pretty close e.g. pronounce 'au' as 'ah-oo' (but in one sound, without a gap between the sounds). To really nail the dipthnogs and to get a sense of which syllables to accent, you can find free online pronunciation guides.

[@Moonglow1-y9x]

You don't know the first ting about maoris mate. Go spend some time in prison amd see how you're brothers act and treat you

[@roozynz]

My 4 year old wanted to do this last weekend. Ive never done it. Thanks for the footage. Enjoyed it. Will plan to do it this weekend with out him before he attempts it. He did 15km the other day.

[@bestdayevermtb2]

15km for a 4 year old!!! That's impressive. I am happy with 15km on a steam bike these days. One to watch for the future.

[@jaselikesbikes]

Nice one Lance. Thanks for the shout out. You did it at long last! I have done this loop around 10 times now and it makes me smile every time.

[@bestdayevermtb2]

It always sounded kind of naff to me but was an awesome ride.

[@IlCapocuocoDiMetallo]

Followed the link from the information about the trail on the RotoruaNZ website, I WAS thinking about doing this ride, then I watched this video. Now I HAVE to do this ride, you've showcased this perfectly! I'll be doing the drive from Tauranga the next fine weekend we get and I'm on this trail for the day! Briliiant work!

[@PlateauproductionsCoNz]

great clip to show the trail off

[@shelleymartin1775]

Thank you heaps for this video. I really loved it! I think it’s one of my favourites. Hubby and I did half this ride not long ago and really loved it. Thank you. So cool!

[@bestdayevermtb2]

It is a cool loop that was fun to ride. You are lucky to have those trails on your door step.

[@warrencarpenter9196]

Partner and I did this ride on Tuesday, absolutely stunning ride, partner was on a meloyelo town and trail i was on a Wattswheel bighorn. Great video, nice to look back

[@bestdayevermtb2]

Glad you enjoyed the ride and the video.

[@mtbwill7008]

Love this channel, great video

[@tylerpaulmtb1926]

8:08 as I local I can confirm that you chose the best and coldest water fountain around, lol we always refill here

[@bestdayevermtb2]

I love the water in the forest. Always fill up on arrival.

[@raecrosbie4448]

That was great! Loved the trail and loved that you haven't given up trying te reo!

[@bestdayevermtb2]

Glad you liked the video. I know my Te reo is very poor but I also know it is not unusual. I think over time we absorb more. Easier if you are young but never too late.

[@cartsmusic]

So beautiful place

[@vipxj1]

The Loops a great ride, ive done it a couple of times. great video.

[@bestdayevermtb2]

Thanks for that.

[@terrycoates4731]

Epic ride that all the family could enjoy.

[@bestdayevermtb2]

You are right. Had all sorts of people doing the loop.

[@chrismartin9779]

Awesome watch lance, me and wifey will have a crack at this one hopefully soon. Look forward to the next video.

[@bestdayevermtb2]

You guys would love it on the e bikes. Take a picnic very romantic. Well that is my idea of romance anyway 🤣🤣🤣

[@Greyarcher1]

Thats was GREAT Lance! Really liked seeing more of the country Side,would be nice to se more like Downtown with surondings, living on the other side of the World its an Exotisk Country 🤠

[@bestdayevermtb2]

Glad you liked the scenery. Hopefully getting some Southern scenery next week.

[@kristanoakley7626]

Enjoyed that. You warned us at the start there’d be none of the usual gnar….. didn’t matter- no FF ing or skipping bits, just a great watch on beautiful trails Lance. Our trails (England) are still a mud-fest but vids like this one get me excited for summer👌

[@bestdayevermtb2]

Summer won't be far away for you guys now.

[@logankennedy3292]

Did the full ride just before Christmas on a steam bike while the older folk had E-bikes. Bloody good ride and great video to show it off Lance

[@bestdayevermtb2]

Thanks for that. Older folks do like e bikes 😁

[@TMac871]

Good on you for trying Te Reo Māori Lance. Keep trying! Great ride too

[@bestdayevermtb2]

Thanks for that. I really would like to be proficient but have always struggled with languages.

[@pathora]

What is crazy is that I've lived in rotorua most of my life & never once been on this loop. I have to check it out asap!

[@bestdayevermtb2]

You really must. It is a great ride.

[@donnapatu2857]

This is awesum! Thank you so much for taking us on your journey around the trail. I have lived in Rotorua for over 29yrs and never done this trek by cycling. its so beautiful going through the forest. Great testament to for giving Te Reo a try. I love how you chatter along the way!

[@bestdayevermtb2]

Thanks Donna, glad you liked the video. People do look at you strange when you ride along chatting to yourself.

[@hydrosafari]

Great ride. Been twice in the last month with different people. 2nd times a charm and could let loose. Had a quick (lol)detour up hill road and then frontal lobotomy to get in eaglevshark. Baja to finish with is really super fun. Good to hear you’re putting the mahi in with your te reo. Great vids! Keep up the good work.

[@bestdayevermtb2]

Thanks for that. Still young so hopefully still time to improve mtb skills as well as Te reo

[@vapo27]

Ko is said like core and took ooh took ooh or took ew took ew --> is tukutuku. Awesome attempts brother 👍

[@ocbyn]

What a lovely ride mate. Love the commentary. You need to get someone to teach you the correct pronunciation for the trail spots. Very enjoyable again Lance. Thank you. Your videos always inspire me to ride.

[@bestdayevermtb2]

Don't ride with anyone who speaks much better than me sadly. I am really terrible at languages. Have tried to learn French, Spanish and Italian in the past but am beyond hopeless.

[@ocbyn]

@@bestdayevermtb2 😂🤣. Always good to try Lance. I thought the Relive video at the end was a nice touch. Made it seem more real as to where you were riding. More please, just not at Zac’s Farm!!!!!!!!!!

[@bestdayevermtb2]

@@ocbyn will leave that app for legal trails. My problem apart from poor Te reo is I either forget to turn it on or forget to turn it off.

[@cablecutter9044]

I remember running that, back in the day, about 30km ish? Rotorua lakes area is actually quite stunning when you get out to the smaller lakes

[@bestdayevermtb2]

I was surprised just how scenic the ride was.

[@chrisstaylor8377]

A nice track I spent 20 years working in this forest ,great to go back and se it again , last job was running the information Centre And helping set up the forest park for NZFS ,enjoy our forest

[@bestdayevermtb2]

The forest is an amazing asset for Rotorua. It genuinely is my happy place.

[@A-Kiwi]

Wow, that trail looks just awesome! Pretty impressed with those 3 wheel guys!

[@bestdayevermtb2]

Had a good chat with them. They ride regularly as a group. Had some quite clever setups. Electric motors have made a huge difference to that type of activity.

[@slippryskillz5739]

Always love watching the content. It’s so nice to have a fellow kiwi making such engaging videos. Wish I could be down in Roto too!

[@bestdayevermtb2]

Glad you like the videos. I would love to get to Rotorua more often.

[@miketodd2036]

Fantastic trail. We have new trail under way in Westport. Going to be 56km long. Will get some photos of and send to you when it’s open. Should be next Christmas

[@bestdayevermtb2]

I am really keen to get down there and ride some of the epic trails.

[@chrisreid3907]

@@bestdayevermtb2 Gotta do a Paparoa ride thru altho as of yet,Ebikes not allowed....Cheers

[@jeanmarc_in_Hudson]

Beautiful thanks!

[@rhysjames3835]

All that way with a full face in this heat ? Brave man

[@bestdayevermtb2]

I only wear the full face because the camera is on the chin.

[@thomas.eyets1]

Hey Lance I got a broken collarbone on av8a yesterday at woodhill Wish I could ride right now! Great video though!

[@bestdayevermtb2]

Bugger. Sorry to hear that. The good news is you are officially a mountain biker now. You can't really call yourself a mountain biker without breaking a collar bone at least once. 😂

[@thomas.eyets1]

Yeah thanks Lance great video!

[@bobreynold4918]

Appreciate your trying with ur te Reo but it still need A LOT of practice

[@bestdayevermtb2]

You are not wrong. Even I cringed when I rewatched it today.

[@shelleymartin1775]

@@bestdayevermtb2 good on you for trying. We don’t know what we don’t know. It does take practice but I think you are doing great by giving it a really good go. There is something very vulnerable about putting ourselves out there and then just sitting back and waiting for the feedback. Keep going Lance you are doing great. I think my favourite is Tu meke…: it is kinda pronounced like too meh keh.:. Sort of. Try that 😊

[@bestdayevermtb2]

@@shelleymartin1775 thanks Shelley. I was a bit nervous about the feedback I might get on this one but everyone has been very supportive.

[@clarriehall7148]

@@bestdayevermtb2 don't cringe at not being perfect when you are trying. It would be a good if you can take up the offer from @The Maori that bikes for a face to face chat. It is much faster to have examples of correct pronunciation and also the immediate feedback is a huge plus. Good work. This track is a nice change from the higher grade tracks for a change.

[@doctorpc4x4]

Bit of help for you Tanga pronouce it as Tongue Ah. Yep on my list to do that loop when I get back down there

[@bestdayevermtb2]

Cheers for that.

[@nickwightman3735]

I've heard that the Tarawera Road chairlift has been mothballed due to the rising popularity of ebikes

[@bestdayevermtb2]

That wouldn't surprise me although I here lots of conflicting reports from people who say they are in the know. Some small bike parks in Europe have seen lower numbers on the lifts due to e bikes.

[@Clynikal]

Class creating

[@fathom5209]

Seems unlikely. Long-term plan is about is geared towards non-biking tourists.

[@nickwightman3735]

@@fathom5209 a chairlift seems pretty rider focused

[@nigelsmith7366]

There is a new mountain bike track in Paparoa (Upper Kaipara) if you ever come up this way let me know... I will pop over to meet you and have a look at your bike

[@bestdayevermtb2]

I really hope to do a big NZ road trip at some stage. So many awesome places to ride.

[@tonysimister4825]

Really enjoyed that. I'd love to ride that trail sometime - I'm in NZ once a year or so, so it could happen. Would it be rideable on a rigid bike, or is full-sus pretty much required?

[@bestdayevermtb2]

You could ride it on a rigid bike. In fact, I did think of doing it on a gravel bike.

[@kefudeng]

Thank you very much. Great video. Do you think this trail is okay for kids? Like 7 years old.

[@bestdayevermtb2]

Depends very much on the kids. Some seven year old kids are very fit and proficient riders while others can't ride a bike. It is quite a big loop but you can do bits of it if you wish. would be a great family adventure.

[@michaelallennz]

I done the loop it Awesome

[@davemcbain352]

Have look at this. Is something you would be interested in doing?

[@kiwifruit5603]

I did this for the first time on my EMTB on Wednesday. How good is that new second half of the green lake? I recommend taking Taura after that rather than the SH5 path as you did.

[@bestdayevermtb2]

I must admit keen to do it again this time with no cameras. I enjoy making videos but it is sometimes fun just riding without stopping to film.

[@kiwifruit5603]

@@bestdayevermtb2 I did it sans camera, and narrated the whole ride in my head 😅

[@chrisreid3907]

Excellent vid,Lance....But don't be too hard on yourself,I'm sure most of your subscribers have no clue on the Maori pronunciation either....I'll be riding it tomorrow based solely on this vid...Cheers

[@bestdayevermtb2]

You are correct that most of the viewers won't know the correct pronunciation buy those that do are very passionate about it.

[@derekcravenPT]

Would this trail be ok to ride an un-suss’d Gravel bike?

[@bestdayevermtb2]

In fact you can see at one point the guy in front of me was on a gravel bike. He seemed happy.

[@mfolquet]

What bike are riding?

[@bestdayevermtb2]

I am on a KTM Prowler E bike

[@DRONIXAR]

Nice