Cycle Trail part 2

Kawakawa – Otiria Trail (6km)

This section of cycle trail is open. It is an easy ride on flat terrain that takes you through rural farmlands and forests and passes the town of Moerewa.

At the other end is Kawakawa, famous for its art toilet! Enjoy the famous toilets designed and built by artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser in 1998, located right in the middle of the town.

Pause at Kawakawa for refreshments at one of the many eateries. Take a ride on Gabriel, the vintage train, which departs from the railway station at one end of the town, runs down the middle of the main street and out into the countryside as far as Taumarere. The railway is being restored so thatGabriel can travel over the fourteen bridges, through one tunnel and take people right through to Opuaon the east coast and back. It was the North Island’s first railway to be opened and the first to run a rail passenger service in the North Island. It is also the most northerly railway in the New Zealand and is of significant historical and cultural importance.

Otiria is the northernmost operational point on the national railway network. One freight train runs every weekday each way between Otiria and Whangarei. The cycle trail takes you past the small town of Moerewa.