Double-deck Western Portal road-rail bridge over Ohinemuri River at Karangahake

The Hauraki Rail Trail is one of the Great Rides of the

New Zealand Cycle Trail The New Zealand Cycle Trail project (Māori: ''Nga Haerenga'', "The Journeys") is a New Zealand government initiative, co-funded together with local councils and charitable trusts, which is to build and operate a network of cycle routes throug ...

system, using parts of the abandoned ECMT and

Thames Branch The Thames Branch railway line connected Thames, New Zealand, with Hamilton and was originally part of the East Coast Main Trunk railway. Part of the line between Morrinsville and Waitoa remains open and is in use as the Waitoa Branch line, ...

railways in the

Hauraki Gulf The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2,Coromandel Peninsula The Coromandel Peninsula ( mi, Te Tara-O-Te-Ika-A-Māui) on the North Island of New Zealand extends north from the western end of the Bay of Plenty, forming a natural barrier protecting the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames in the we ...

. The trail officially starts from

Kaiaua Kaiaua is a small coastal settlement on the Seabird Coast, on the western shore of the Firth of Thames, in the Hauraki District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is 80km (60 minutes drive) from Auckland. Name The name of t ...

in the north and traces the Shorebird Coast along the

Firth of Thames The Firth of Thames ( mi, Tikapa Moana-o-Hauraki) is a large bay located in the north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the firth of the rivers Waihou and Piako, the former of which was formerly named the Thames River, and the town o ...

before heading south via

Paeroa Paeroa is a town in the Hauraki District of the Waikato Region in the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula, it is close to the junction of the Waihou River and Ohinemuri River, and is approximately 20 kilo ...

to then branch either east towards

Waihi Waihi is a town in Hauraki District in the North Island of New Zealand, especially notable for its history as a gold mine town. The town is at the foot of the Coromandel Peninsula, close to the western end of the Bay of Plenty. The nearby res ...

(via the Karangahake Gorge) or south to

Te Aroha Te Aroha ( mi, Te Aroha-a-uta) is a rural town in the Waikato region of New Zealand with a population of 3,906 people in the 2013 census, an increase of 138 people since 2006. It is northeast of Hamilton and south of Thames. It sits at the f ...

. In the Karangahake Gorge, the

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

passes through a long tunnel, which has been fitted with electrical lighting. The trail takes around three days to complete for most fitness levels. It is one of the easiest cycle trails in New Zealand and offers a diverse range of scenery, from

pohutukawa ''Metrosideros excelsa'', commonly known as pōhutukawa ( mi, pōhutukawa), New Zealand Christmas tree, New Zealand Christmas bush, and iron tree, is a coastal evergreen tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that produces a brilliant display o ...

trees, through lush farm land, and onto some of New Zealand's pioneering past.

Length and extensions

The trail was opened in 2012, with 95% of 69 km completed at the end of 2012, and all of the original length open from early 2013 (New Zealand Cycle Trail's official website). In September 2013, the connecting section from

Waikino Waikino is a small settlement at the eastern end of a gorge in the North Island of New Zealand alongside the Ohinemuri River, between Waihi and the Karangahake Gorge. The Waikino district lies at the base of the ecologically sensitive Coromandel ...

was opened, and currently the network encompasses over of easy-riding cycle trails. Scoping for a further section, from Kopu to

along the Firth of Thames' coast was expected to start in mid-2013, and could add another to the track distance.

Popularity

In 2013 the trail was described as the most popular cycle trail in New Zealand, despite only having been open for less than a year. From January 2013 to April 2013, monthly cycle counts on the busiest section (

Karangahake Gorge The Karangahake Gorge lies between the Coromandel and Kaimai ranges, at the southern end of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand's North Island. A sharply winding canyon, it was formed by the Ohinemuri River. State Highway 2 passes throug ...

) averaged over 7,000 cyclists a month. The trail was particularly popular with the "baby boomer" and family clientele from Auckland and the wider Waikato, with 24% of users coming from Auckland, 15% from Hamilton, and a large proportion of users being older riders – based on a

University of Waikato The University of Waikato ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato), is a Public university, public research university in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand established in 1964. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university perfo ...

survey. Both local businesses and Council agree that the trail had a significant economic benefit for the region, and had already become a major promotional asset for tourism.

Awards

The new wooden bridges on the rail trail received the "Sustainability Award" in the Timber Design Awards in 2012.

References

External links

Hauraki Rail Trail
on the New Zealand Cycle Trail website
Hauraki Rail Trail
on the temporary website of the administering trust {{Thames-Coromandel District Thames-Coromandel District Hiking and tramping tracks in Waikato Rail trails in New Zealand New Zealand Cycle Trail Hauraki District Firth of Thames