Michaella Laird takes a corner on a bike trail. Photo / Supplied
Michaella Laird takes a corner on a bike trail. Photo / Supplied
The operators of a new 50ha private mountain bike park are hoping to bring in adrenaline-seeking domestic tourists to the Whanganui area.
That Place - about 25km up the Whanganui River in Kaiwhaiki - has been open for about two weeks and has already attracted riders from around the NorthIsland.
"There's a variety of rides and types of rides and skills required in the rides. Everybody could get their fill," local mountain biker Michaella Laird said.
Laird had done research, and expects most of the visitors to be from out of town.
"Outdoorsy folk like travelling around and are quite self-sufficient," she said.
That Place is on 50ha of land at a bend in the Whanganui River, near Kaiwhaiki. Photo / Supplied
That Place is open from Thursday evening to Sunday evening. Booking is essential to make sure someone is there to induct the visitor.
The director is Tom Oskam, who has returned to New Zealand from six years of building mountain bike trails all over the world. Laird is working with him and is the founder of the Whanganui Dirt Warriors, a women's mountain biking group.
The others involved are Peter and Louise Oskam, and the park is on 50ha of family trust land that they want to share. It's reached by a public gravel road that continues upriver from Kaiwhaiki Pā.
The 50ha of hillside has been planted with 70,000 macrocarpa, redwood, eucalyptus and pine trees that will not be harvested for 50 to 100 years. As well as the production forest, the Oskams have created a series of hillside ponds and wetlands, with funding from Fish & Game New Zealand.
On a 2km riverside strip the willows have been poisoned and a further 20,000 native trees are being planted, with financial help from the Whanganui River Enhancement Trust.
That section has the gentlest mountain bike track, a 10km loop that is grade 2 and suitable for children.
The park has nine trails so far, some very technical, with jumps and speed. They were built with "time and love" rather than a huge budget. All are flow tracks and more development is planned.
Tom Oskam, left, Peter Oskam, Michaella Laird and Louise Oskam have started That Place. Photo / Laurel Stowell
Tom Oskam and Laird are also available to coach and guide mountain bikers.
"They are really experienced and very calm and confidence-instilling," Louise Oskam said.
The "That Place" name is non-specific because the property has other possibilities. Louise Oskam has kiln for hot glass workshops, Community Education Whanganui has held a harakeke weaving workshop, and the basic kitchen facilities at The Hill-Tin (a former woolshed) can be a place to hang out or a base for campers.
The Oskams have a good relationship with Kaiwhaiki Pā and historian Ken Clarke is developing a riverside tour to tell visitors about Ngā Paerangi's dense settlement and kumara gardens in pre-European times.
Swimming in the river is possible, and the owner of the riverboat Wairua, Sam Mordey, plans to land people and bikes from the river in future.
Staff at That Place give new visitors an induction, and the visitors sign a waiver. Once people have been inducted they will be able to ride whenever they want, and a membership scheme is likely in future.
"We are trying to grow the mountain bike community and create a community feel."
The Place has been audited to deliver outdoor activities.
"There's no doubt that mountain biking is a dangerous sport. We have got radios and vehicles and we have done a lot of homework," Louise Oskam said.
That Place can be booked and paid for online at that-place.co.nz. A day pass will cost $20 for the next two weeks and so far bikers from Wellington, New Plymouth and Rotorua have been there.
