Families coming together for Matariki and biking fun. Photo / Supplied
There was plenty of excitement as families enjoyed a night of celebrating both Matariki and biking together.
Matariki Bike the Night 2020 was held last week at the Redwoods.
People were invited to decorate their bikes with lights for a fun family ride along the Mokopuna Track.
There were 48 participants in this year's Matariki biking event, with a mixture of all ages and abilities taking part.
Nika Alefosio-Tuck, from the Tatau Pounamu Collective, attended and said she really enjoyed it.
"It was an awesome way to spend time with my girls, connect with nature, celebrate and remember Matariki.
"Five of the ladies were new to night riding, so they were buzzing after that wee night adventure.
"The feedback from them was pretty much the same as mine - they had a great time! Such a cool memory to share."
There was also plenty of feedback from tamariki who took part in the adventure.
Their feedback included, "That was a little scary when we were the only ones biking", "It felt like we were on another planet", "All the lights were so pretty", and "It's a cool way to hang out with my friends".
Marcus Powell, a physio for the Ministry of Education arranged for a family to go along and participate with a special off-road chair.
Ashmit Danney took part in the event using the special off-road chair which was bought in a partnership between Rotorua Lakes Council and Halberg Disability Foundation.
Alongside Parafed Rotorua, a programme is being developed for families to use the chair either in the Redwoods or taken further afield.
It can be booked and used by the public, as is currently located at the Redwood iSite. The core goal for the off-road chair is to get people out into nature to improve their wellbeing.
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