Slush Fund

Spring 2023 rolled around and the Taylors Mistake Bach Association mustered up the Ground Effect crew and mates to sort out the drainage on Taylors Escape. The pictures tell the story.

Founded in 2013 World Off-road Riding Department is a youth mountain bike charity based in Wellington and Wānaka, Aotearoa providing amazing life changing term programmes and holiday camps for kids age 7-17 years old.

In 2023 Trails Wellington opened the first section Te Tuarā o Matairangi, the new Grade 4 flow and jumps trail on Matairangi (Mt Victoria). Trails Wellington work in partnership with Wellington Mtb Club, Mākara Peak Supporters and Brooklyn Trail Builders to maintain and create mtb trails around Wellington City.

The Kawatiri Nature Environment and Communities Trust (KNECT) and the Buller Cycling Club are establishing a spectrum of trails throughout the 1000 acre native bush clad hills of Gentle Annie, a special spot just north of Westport on the South Islands' West Coast.

The construction of the 12 km Lake Brunner Scenic Trail is now over the half way mark. The track is making its way through pristine native forest on the western shore of the lake. Coastwide Films Ltd has put together a neat wee film on the project.

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.

The Panpac Eskdale Mtb Park located in Esk Valley suffered massive damage during Cyclone Gabrielle. It's going to be a huge effort to restore the park so the community can ride there again. The Hawkes Bay Mtb Club started a Givealittle page to help raise funds for the rebuild, and the Slush Fund added $1000 to their fundraising campaign.

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 Ruapehu Mountain Bike Club is reinvigorating the trails in the Uenuku Pines Mtb Park. Extensive logging destroyed 80% of the trails built over the last decade. The Slush Fund donated $2000 to purchase an e-barrow and reciprocating saw.