Takaka Hill: Rameka Track

Mountain mecca for mountain bike demons

Righto, you mountain bike demons ... here's one for you:

Indulge your downhill passion on a wicked ride that starts at the top of Takaka Hill - that steep marble mountain which sticks out like a sore thumb on the road to Golden Bay at the inland corner of the Abel Tasman National Park.

Before your high-speed descent, it's worth taking a short warm-up wander over to Harwood's Hole. A vertical hole in the hill, it's the deepest 'straight' drop in the country.

After checking out this local phenomenon, surrounded by a bizarre landscape of pre-historic rock formations, sink-holes and dense and unusual forest, it's time to spin your wheels down Rameka Track's lunar-like northern face.

Screaming down a mountain face at a rapid rate is skin-stingling stuff, and one hell of an adrenalin kick!

You'll see Golden Bay before you, and a few curly sections on this single path (so keep your eyes peeled), before you reach the base of the mountain and Takaka township.