‘The Block’ as it is known in 4wd circles is an area in the northern block of the Pureora Forest set aside for 4×4 activities and managed by the King Country 4wd Club.
The Block lies between Te Kuiti and Mangikino on SH30 and is accessed via Waitaramoa Road. Waitaramoa Road is worth the ride in itself ranging from long open straights to tight windy sections, all the while running through the Pureora Forest.
Following Waitaramoa Road there are many logging roads heading off each side of the road, these are not for public vehicle access except for Select Loop Road.
20km’s in to Waitaramoa Road you will see a sign pointing ahead to the Ngaroma 4×4 Park and after this point you will see 4×4 tracks disappearing off each side. From here the last 3 km’s to the end of the road are marked by large signs.
At the end of Waitaramoa Road is a basic camp site with running water (Not sure if it’s drinkable) and 2 long drops which was built and is maintained by the King Country 4wd Club. Respect the camp and the facilities it provides.
From the camp 4wd tracks disappear into the trees and fork off in various directions and the going gets tight and muddy, it’s small bikes with knobbly tyres only territory.
This entire area is actively logged so at any time you may come across various forest machinery and trucks, caution is advised at all times and as usual all road rules still apply so stay on your side of the track. You may also come across 4wd’s at any stage using the Ngaroma 4×4 Park.
Contributed by: @eddieb
Track type: Gravel road
Track composition: Bumpy, Loose, Undulating
Slippery when wet?: Yes
Suitable for bikes <650cc? Intermediate
Suitable for bikes >650cc? Intermediate
River crossings? No
Michael J Breen and Sharn Amon might be interested in this one.
Definitely. Sue and I also want to mountain bike the Pureora
Yea looks interesting. Maybe we could take ropes for the DR’s? ???? Uncle Sharn will tow ya Jake
Rode through today. Road is a bit rough and pot-holes in places but still very manageable. Lots of the forest has been felled but it’s still a beautiful spot.
Didn’t try any of the tracks as they were clearly very sodden and looked pretty slippery. Not something I wanted to get into by myself.
Michael J Breen and Sharn Amon might be interested in this one.
I went up one of the tracks from the campsite and stopped here seeing as I was on my own, it got slippery pretty quick.
Interesting. Never realised Pureora Forest continued north of SH30. I remember mapping the section west of SH32 for the open maps. Looks like Waitaramoa Road isn’t accurate in the maps either 😀 hehe
Definitely. Sue and I also want to mountain bike the Pureora
Yea looks interesting. Maybe we could take ropes for the DR’s? ???? Uncle Sharn will tow ya Jake
Checked this out on my travels, great isolated spot and the ride to it is just as good as you get the feeling on being in the middle of nowhere riding 20+km into a forest with not another soul around. It may have been due to the rain of late, but there didn’t seem to be many suitable spots to camp if it was to rain (looks like there would be places with standing water or boggy.) The facilities themselves are great and better stocked than any free doc campsite I’ve been to.
Map of tracks within the 4×4 park