What mysteries await this year’s Great K Valley Cycle adventurers? It's time to register now!

Primitive jawless fish, koura and eels all live happily in the Kopurererua Valley’s newly restored wetland, part of the 300 hectare of low lying rural land situated between residential neighbourhoods in Tauranga. And there’s a rumour that a friendly bog-monster is moving in, in time for the Great K Valley Cycle Adventure of 2024.

Kopurererua Valley is packed with history, bird life, and great cycling and walking trails. Get your friends and family together to enjoy a fun few hours as you find the clues within the valley. 

Registrations are now open for the fun cycle event, taking place on April 21, 2024.

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

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!

Be assured, this is not a mini Tour de France but more like a scavenger hunt, with a map.

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, you will be directed to the Starter for your safety briefing confirmation and your team start. Prize giving is at 2.30pm.

The Great K Valley Cycle Adventure will be held on Sunday April 21. Photo: Supplied.

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.

The Great K Valley Cycle Adventure  - think scavenger hunt, map reading and puzzle solving by bike as you explore the trails of  Kopurererua Valley. Starting point is at the west end of 17th Ave near Tauranga Historic Village. Photo: Supplied.

“[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.

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.

The Great K Valley Cycle Adventure will be held on Sunday April 21. Photo: Supplied.

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.

Kopurererua Valley cycleway map. The Great K Valley Cycle Adventure is being held on April 21, with start at the west end of 17th Avenue. Map: Tauranga City Council.

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 Puketoromiro Pā which stands towards the southern end of the Kopurererua Valley. Photo: Supplied.

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.

The Puketoromiro Pā which stands towards the southern end of the Kopurererua Valley. Photo: Supplied.

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 member Wayne Shadbolt assisting with one of the many fun clues on the Great K Valley Cycle Adventure. Photo: Supplied.

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 Rotary Club of Tauranga Sunrise planting in the Kopurererua Valley, which is the largest urban wetland restoration area in New Zealand. Photo: Wayne Shadbolt.

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