Landfill Lark

This is what happens when you order a cheap knockoff of ‘Bottlelake Blue Loop’ over the internet. We are largely following minor trails that can sometimes be hard to spot so we would recommend following the gpx file. Things can get confusing in the forest very quickly, and while you won't get dangerously lost, you can often accumulate additional distance by taking wrong turns and backtracking.

Head off up the gravel road (Lima Road) before taking a left into the forest. This piece wiggles and winds through the trees. We are taking the main line, but it can be easy to divert to a side-track unintentionally. You will soon come to a junction with a main left leading turn. Instead of taking this go straight, towards a clearing. The landfill fence will be on your RHS. Follow the track sticking to the fence until you pop out at Landfill Road (the main tar-sealed road), which we will cross straight over.

Now it is time to follow the dots, which pick up to the right before connecting to the main groomed running track. This piece can be slow – It’s soft and spongy and takes a bit of attention to follow the spray marks on the trees. These dots carry on after the junction of roads and MTB tracks. At a junction we take a right and momentarily join the actual ‘blue loop’ before breaking left (at approximately 3km).

Follow this track, cross the gravel road, and carry on until reaching 15th Ave. At this point we head beachward and follow the ‘Pegasus Bay Track’ for a bit, which is an opportunity to make up on lost time. Soon you will come to a section that climbs and pops out for a view of the beach. Part way along take a left off the tops (ha) and head down the sandy trail. This next part can be tricky to find – after Uniform Road (rutted 4wd track), but before Tango Rd (sandy track) there is a hard to spot goat track to the left. Persevere on this – it’s gets better as you go and is subjectively the best bit of single track in the forest.

At the end of this section, head beachward again and pick up the ‘Pegasus Bay Track’ until ducking back inland (yet again) at approximately 6.8km. Follow alongside the ponds before getting into the pine trees again. Loads of goat tracks to get lost on here, but we will end up in roughly the same spot no matter what. The goal is to pop out at the old landfill, head up the steep grassy side and back down past the rotunda. Take Lima Road for a sprint finish back to the start.