South Island

The Marlborough Mtb Club manages an extensive network of trails and in 2023 requested some 'loose change' from the Slush Fund to cover the short fall on their purchase of a 1.7t digger. The digger was put to work immediately, readying the trails at Homebrook and Wither Hills for the club to host the 2023 Skoda National School Mtb Champs.

Bike Wānaka with the help of a bunch of volunteers are transforming the current Lismore Bike Park into an epic facility for the whole of the Wānaka two-wheeled community to enjoy.

In late 2021 OneFortyOne NZ generously allowed community access to their Kainui Nth Forest to build mtb trails. A small crew of dedicated volunteers in collaboration with the MTB Trails Trust have been busy creating tracks for all abilities, and Kainui Bike Park was officially opened in December 2022.

On their small piece of land on the outskirts of Alexandra, Neil & Katrine Gellatly are building trails for mtbers, runners and walkers. The hard schist rock-thyme-tussock and sweet briar country of Badlands drops 140m down to the mighty Clutha River.

The Hanmer Springs Mtb Club might be small in membership but has a trail network under its wing that is used all year round by holidaymakers from across the motu. The Ground Effect Slush Fund donated $2000 towards an eBarrow to help move material about on the hilly terrain.

The spring rains always make the grass grow and riding the trails in Christchurch's Port Hills feel a bit like skiing in a whiteout. Taylors Escape is often trimmed from tip to toe with the Slush Fund-ed brush cutter by Dave Mitchell & co. 

The North Avon Christchurch BMX Club is a small group of passionate volunteers behind the new asphalt pump track at the Bexley Reserve in Eastern Christchurch. The Ground Effect Slush Fund supported their recent crowd funding campaign with a $1000 contribution.

The Mtb Trails Trust based in the top of Te Waipounamu is charged with ensuring tools and resources are available to look after existing trails as well as create new ones. The trust approached the Slush Fund for $700 to purchase an electric hedge trimmer for their new volunteer tool shed at St Arnaud.

Damian Stones and his video camera capture construction of the new 'Butters' grade 5 trail in Nelson.

A team of keen volunteers has been working hard to rediscover the Painkiller Track in Reefton. The Ground Effect Slush Fund stumped up the $1800 required to install two culverts.

Artfully dodging forecasts of incoming inclement weather, thirty-odd keen trail elves scraped, shaped, crafted and benched Christchurch’s Taylors Escape track back in June 2021. With a load more trail love the track is running like a dream for summer 2023.

The Ground Effect Slush Fund has hooked up the custodians of Lyttelton Mountain Bike Trails with some cash to purchase tools to help with trail maintenance and building efforts at Urumau.