Around Motu Trails, the trail enhancements keep happening. In 2021 we’ve completed a new shelter at the top of Meremere hill on the Motu Road, installed new signage and displays on the Dunes Trail and Rere Falls Trail, and installed a couple of new bench seats on Pakihi Track.

A sincere thank you to many individuals and organisations who have helped this work, including lots of volunteers. We thank Garth Barfoot, whose hugely generous support of Motu Trails Charitable Trust has enabled us to do projects that were previously far beyond reach, thank you Garth!

• New Motu Road shelter. This is 20km from the end of the Dunes Trail, 30km from Ōpōtiki, at the top of a 6km climb. It’s the same shelter design as all around Motu Trails. Motu Road now has shelters at each end, plus at Motu, Motu Hilltop, Pakihi top (small), Papamoa, Toatoa, and Meremere.

• New signage and displays. Volunteers put up maps and signage along the Dunes Trail. We also installed more pottery bird tiles, which are mounted on old concrete culvert and irrigation trough (strong, durable, and environmentally responsible by recycling resources). Big thanks to Ōpōtiki Lions Club who supported this project.

• New bench seats. There multiple bench seats around the Motu Trails, four in this design. Two seats were installed near the top and bottom end of Pakihi Track. The seats were made possible by multiple donations from 2020 and 2021 riders of the remarkable Kopiko Aotearoa, cape to cape bike-packing event. Rider donations also supported trail maintenance—thanks all!

There’s plenty more being planned around Motu Trails, first up should be new a shelter on Pakihi Track.

If you’d like to support our work, please visit givealittle.co.nz/org/motutrails or donate straight into our account: Motu Trails Charitable Trust, 06-0637-0259896-00