Murupara and Te Teko #

While the official Kopiko Aotearoa course sends riders down the main highway between Rainbow Mountain and Murupara, that makes for 36 kilometres of unpleasant riding on a very busy road. There’s a much nicer (though longer and hillier) way to get there, passing through Rerewhakaaitu and taking Ngamotu Road through the forest. From Rotorua, you can follow the Te Ara Ahi cycleway to Rainbow Mountain, then after 4 km on the highway you turn into Rerewhakaaitu Road and take a beautiful, remote and rather hilly section through the forest:

Once you reach Pokairoa Road, you can either turn left and head down Pokairoa, Galatea and Tahuna Roads to Te Teko, or turn right and follow Pokairoa and Kopuriki Roads to Murupara.