Local Info

Makara peak turns 25.

The next big birthday event is about to kick off, with the amazing tree trail.

The tree trail celebrates the incredible efforts of the Mākara peak supporters’ who have planted tens of thousands of native trees across the park over the past 25 years. Reintroducing many of the forest’s giant trees species, that had not been seen in the park for over 125 years.

A Makara peak conservation committee initiative, the tree trail provides an amazing insight into the incredible diversity and examples of these specimen trees that can now be found across the park. Big round of applause for our diehard volunteers who have spent countless hours planting the valleys and hill tops of Mākara peak.

If you know nothing or just a little about our parks trees and keen to know more, come and joint the experts for free guided tree trail, walk, ride, or run. These kick off this weekend, if your keen to attend keep an eye out on the MPS Face book page.

Cherry tree mission.

A native of Asia and a high priority target weed for our dedicated Conservation volunteers, the flowering cheery tree which is widespread across the region, if left unchecked can grow up to 16 meters in height. Competing against our native trees for light and space. This is a headache for Mākara peaks regenerating forest, the fruit is incredibly attractive to birds who then spread the seed further into the park.

Simon from the MPS conservation committee has been spear heading the Cherry tree control over the past few years. The army of weed busting volunteers are out most Sunday mornings during Autum, seeking out the golden cherry tree leaves in the depts of the park, burrowing their way through countless kilometres of dense prickly undergrowth to reach and eradicate these remote trees.

Their efforts are often boosted with the help of WCC contractors and sponsorship from Bark.

Cutting and pasting is the main method of removal, herbicide gel is applied to the cut stump, warning signage is placed in the area where the gel is applied. Its common sense to not touch the bright orange gel while its drying.

Massive effort weed busting team; you’re making a big dent in the park’s cherry population, dramatically reducing their numbers by the thousands.

A great pic of volunteers Anne and Phil, wielding the tools of the trade. gel in one hand and a saw in the other. 😊

Pig pest control

Unfortunately, our native plants are a tasty treat for any wild pig population, Mākara peak is no exception. To keep the pigs in check our contract hunter Trent is often patrolling the park with this pig dogs, tracking down and removing any wild pigs that crosse his path. Over the past couple of weeks Trent has dispatched two pigs but where there are two there are usually more.

If you come across a roaming pig in the park, please let us know so we can follow this up.

Trail Maintenance

Smokin done and dusted.

Over the past few weeks our maintenance crew have been super focused on getting the end of Smokin open.

With the help of Ricky from slack trails and our volunteer Thursday crew we did just that, smashing out the 200 meters of surfacing over a couple sessions. Now complete the trail is running like a dream.

The merge with RLE, Pohatu, and the 4wd road is now super improved, you’re less likely to get T boned at this intersection now. 😊

Big shout out to Anna from our Thursday crew, Ranger Martin and Ranger Rachel and Rickey for your sterling efforts with the surfacing.

Swigg pixies

The magical work on Swigg continues, the remarkable work of the hard-core Mākara peak trail pixies has not slowed down over the past few weeks.

Have you managed to find the new fly me to the moon tabletop on Swigg? or the re crafted berms / wall rides? All this have been made possible by our small army of Mākara peak trail volunteers who come together every Sunday to ensure the trails you pedal are running mint. Big shout out to MPS tracks lead Coops (small dude in the image on the miniature rock breaker), Clint (who keeps us fed with his mean BBQ every Sunday), Paulo, Gabe, Max, Allen, Lisa, James, Cam, Andrew, Simon H, Martin, and Georgia. And all our trail volunteer super stars.

Woohoo this track just keeps getting better!!! If you love what we have built come and join our Sunday afternoon Digs, kick off is at 3pm followed by a BBQ and beer.

Behind the scenes

Trail adoption is a really great way of giving back to the park. This week I would like

to give a big shout out to Simon O and his mate Adam for the work on lower Pohatu, the lads smashed out some mean work on the approach to the big left hander.

James and his mate Cam and Co have continued to lead the charge with the skills area maintenance, those Jumps are looking sharp guys keep up the fab work. your work Is legendary. 😊

The troll under the bridge is now gone.

Well not quite a Troll, a squeaky wooden transom from under the swing bridge has now been replaced, which touch wood will take care of the ware to the underside of the bridge. This is all part of our yearly routine maintenance of the asset. Great work Podge form La podge and Mike Baker form Track build.

Bark in the Park.

Angus and his team have been instrumental at keeping out of control veg at bay. Over the past few weeks Team bark have been patrolling our trails making sure they are safe for your riding pleasure. Cheers MPS and Bark for your generous sponsorship, which has enabled the crew to carry on with this work.

General info

Flash new Map boards.

Yep like Christmas they are coming, they look amazing, and for you viewing pleasure take a look at the attached image. There should be no getting lost once these map boards are in place, the flash new safety messaging and instructions will make rescue in the park easier. All going well we should be done and map board installations by the end of April. Big thanks to the team from MPS for checking and providing content, our Designer Nick Clarkson and of course WCC for funding another master plan project.

Safety first

I don’t know about you, but I can say I have been fortunate enough to have been rescued by emergency services after various MTB trail ride miss haps, I was very grateful that they were there to get me out of a jam.

These professionals are worth their weight in gold and probably don’t always get the recognition they deserve for the awesome work they do.

Mākara peak is no stranger for the rescue crews of the Wellington free ambulance, the hard-working professionals of the WFA first response rescue crew and the Red watch team from Karori fire station joined me last week for a day out at Makara peak.

The crews were familiarising themselves with the parks 16 emergency pickup points, these fixed points scattered across the park are used as wayfinding tools for staging rescues and collecting patients.

The emergency pick-up points are now located on the new map boards and can be found on the Trailforks app and map of the park. We encourage all park users to take note of the location of these signposted pick-up points, as they could save valuable time in rescuing a patient.

10 points for anyone who can work out what trail feature appears in the image of the team practicing a patient recovery, using the mule rescue trolly. Such a cool piece of kit.

Track conditions

Trail conditions

For up-to-date info on the City’s MTB trails including Makara peak, download the Trails Wellington app, https://www.trailswellington.co.nz/ if you’re not a paid up TW member you still have access to the trail status section of the app. While you’re checking out the trail status, join Trails Wellington to support Mākara peak trails. 😊

For up to date park information and events, check the Makara peak supporters Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/makarapeak/.

Track closures

Zac’s track Closed.

Monday 8th April to 19th April

The awesome MPS committee are investing 6.5k into maintenance off upper Zacs track. Ricky from slack trails will be tracking his flash new digger down Zac’s from the summit over the next two weeks, grading the trail bench and smashing out some of those rocky spots.

Rimu track closed.

Thursday 11th of April

Our trail Maintenance crew will be back in full swing next week, working alongside the Kiwi Bank team to widen sections of Rimu to bring it into grade for a two-way trail.

Sunday 3rd March Swigg closed from 3pm to 6pm for the MPS dig day.

If you like riding what we are building, consider coming along to a dig, good sausages, great beer and excellent company.

Get involved.

Keen to lend a hand, but are unable to make the Mākara peak supporters weekend work parties? We are looking for enthusiastic volunteers to join our weekly Thursday maintenance sessions, if your keen to learn trail building and maintence techniques, then come and join Ranger Mark and Martin, Ricky from Slack trails and our awesome volunteers, Dave, Anna, and Wayne for a fun day out at Mākara peak. If this sounds appealing, please drop me a line at mark.kent@wcc.govt.nz .

Upcoming events

Fault-line ultra-Saturday 20th from 11 am to 4pm Sunday 21st April

Makara peak is going to be super busy with this event, a huge number of Trails are going to be used across the park for this MTB and Running event. There will be trail closures over the event weekend, we will keep you posted on where these are. more details about the event and courses can be found here, https://faultlineultra.co.nz/

Tracks involved:

T4, peak flow, Ridgeline Extension, Tower 19

Connector, Magic Carpet, Sally Alley, Three

Brothers (Part 1), Upswing, Aratihi, Snake Charmer,

Zac’s Track, North Face, Smokin', Big Tom’s

Wheelie, SWIGG.

Makara peak , Wrights hill and Waimapi ( Pole hill) trails are included in the course, We will provide a detailed update next week with a course map ( check the Faultline web site in the meantime ) .

Our advice is to consider riding other trails in the Wellington region while this event is on, Matairangi ( MT Victoria ) Miramar, Red rocks , is your best bet in the city or there are plenty of trails to discover in Porirua and the Hutt too, Riven rock in the Wairarapa is a gem work discovering if you haven’t already .

Xterra trail run at Makara peak 18th May 2024 trail across the park will be used for this event, more details here https://xterrawellington.co.nz/starlight-makara-peak/

Is your business or work interested in supporting a Mākara peak community project?

Corporate volunteers, contribute massively to the park each year, working on conservation projects and enhancing our track network.

Taking part in these activities such as track building and refurbishment, planting and weed control is immensely rewarding mahi, and makes for an awesome team building day out at Makara peak.

If your business - team are interested in spending a day at Mākara peak let’s talk, please drop me a line at mark.kent@wcc.govt.nz