Think scavenger hunt, map reading and puzzle solving as you cycle past ancient pa sites, primitive jawless fish, and wetlands, on 300 hectares in the middle of Tauranga.

It’s time to register now for the best fun on bikes with the Great K Valley Cycle Adventure of 2024.

This is not a race but more like a scavenger hunt, with a map, being run on Sunday April 21 through the largest urban wetland restoration in NZ.

Kopurererua Valley is packed with history, bird life, great cycling and walking trails as well as some fun mysteries, waiting to be uncovered.

Rumour has it that a friendly bog-monster may be moving in, in time to surprise a few cyclists participating in the Great K Valley Cycle Adventure.

So get your friends and family together to enjoy a fun few hours as you find the clues within the valley. 

Run by the Rotary Club of Tauranga Sunrise, the Great K Valley Cycle Adventure, which began in 2018, is supported by sponsors like My ride Tauranga, Ingham Mora and Pak N Save, with all profits going to local youth charities. And there’s great prizes up for grabs!

Teams made up of up to six people, of family, friends and workmates, follow clues along either a 10km or 25 km trail through the valley, join in team challenges to score more points and can come away with fabulous prizes. 

Teams can start at 10 minute intervals between 10am and 12 midday.

On arrival and registration at the west end of 17th Avenue, you will be directed to the Starter for your safety briefing confirmation and your team start.

Prize giving is at 2.30pm.

Spot prizes and fun

Last year, a spot prize of a bike, worth near $600 came from MyRide Tauranga.

This was won by Erin Burningham.

There were also first, second and third prizes for the 10km and 25 km courses.

Rotary Club of Tauranga Sunrise club member and event co-organiser Michele Beaton says that last year the clues related mostly to the valley's history, its biodiversity and the value of the wetland in mitigating effects of the climate crisis.

“It was so successful we are looking forward to increasing the fun value for an even bigger and better 2024 event,” says Michele.

 “[In 2023] competitors, provided with maps and crossword clues, had to cycle the course to find the answers, discovering the valley as they went and joining in challenges involving things like catching water bombs and standing whole teams on sheets of folded newspaper.”

In 2023, more than 200 cyclists took on the adventure.

Michele says 53 teams entered, with around two-thirds of them completing the 10km course and the rest taking on the 25km course.

The Great K Valley Cycle Adventure on Sunday April 21 is family fun for all ages. Photo: Supplied.

Kopurererua Valley – the city’s jewel

If you’re not yet familiar with the valley, it covers 360 ha with Gate Pa and Greerton on its eastern side and Tauriko to the west.

This public park is adjacent to the toll road/expressway that connects Tauriko to the CBD but once you’re on the cycleways you become oblivious to traffic and noise.

A mixture of boardwalks, gravel and seal pathways wind their way alongside the Kopurererua Valley stream and will take you around 45 minutes one way between the Lakes and the Tauranga Historic Village.

There’s also an ‘express’ path that’s more direct so if you have an e-bike or electric scooter, you can zip into the CBD in less than 20 minutes.

The Great Kopurererua Valley Cycle event is not just your chance to discover a little known jewel in our city but also, perhaps, some valuable short-cuts between home and school or work.

Ancient pa sites

The valley was home for hundreds of years to Ngai Tamarawaho as evidenced by several pa sites, and the Kopurererua River is the main tributary feeding into the Waikareao Estuary.

The wetland, once navigable, and the river were valuable sources of fish, including eels, kahawai, mullet, parore and inanga (white bait), serving as the kete kai (food baskets) of the hapu.

The Valley was the staging point and path of retreat for warriors in the Battles of Pukehinahina (Gate Pa) and Te Ranga, on April 29 and June 21, in 1864.

Taurikura is the kaitiaki of Ngai Tamarawaho.

Legend tells that she was a chief’s daughter who fled her village in shame after refusing to collect water for her grandfather.

She turned herself into an ngarara (lizard) and swam down the Kopurererua River and into Tauranga Moana.

She landed on the rocky island of Karewa, near Matakana Island and is now considered the ancestor of tuatara living on the island.

Wetlands and environment

Over 300,000 native plants have been planted to help regenerate this wetland and the result is a secluded oasis.

Taking the track west of the expressway you’ll find yourself cycling under the cover of trees and lots of native plants.

Choosing from the tracks on the eastern side, you’ll mainly be out in the open with views of the wetland to enjoy.

'The scavenger hunt is environmentally-focused, takes entrants to areas that are usually unexplored, and highlights what an asset the valley is to the community,” says Michele who is expecting many more participants than last year, with club members pitching in to ensure everyone enjoys a fun few hours in the valley while finding puzzle clues.

Rotary Club of Tauranga Sunrise

The Rotary Club of Tauranga Sunrise is one of nearly 33,000 clubs in 200 countries with more than 1.2million members.

The combined Rotary Clubs of Tauranga have been assisting Tauranga City Council with regeneration of the valley since the millennium, with annual planting, rat trapping and fundraising efforts.

The Kopurererua Rotary Centennial Trust, established in 2004, played a significant role in raising funds to purchase more than 120,000 plants and trees during the first ten years of planting in the valley.

Ngāi Tamarāwaho is mana whenua of Kopurererua Valley have done a lot of work in partnership with the council in the valley and with its river, and also in raising awareness of Puketoromiro Pā located towards the southern end of the valley

Funds raised from the Great K Valley Cycle Adventure will be going to the Graeme Dingle Foundation, a charity established since 1995.

A leader in positive child and youth development Graeme Dingle Foundation currently works with over 27,000 five to eighteen year olds throughout New Zealand.

Three of their programmes are run in the Bay of Plenty.

Kiwi Can, Stars and Project K and aim to equip young New Zealanders with a sense of self-worth and self-confidence, the ability to take responsibility and be accountable for their actions, and valuable life skills.

To register for the Great K Valley Cycle Adventure on April 21, 2024 go to https://www.eventspronto.co.nz/event7032