The Mākara Peak Supporters
The Mākara Peak Mountain Bike Park Supporters (often referred to as ‘the Supporters’) are a volunteer organisation that was established in 1998 and are made up of keen mountain bikers, runners, walkers and residents with a passion for Mākara Peak and a vision for a world class MTB park in regenerating native forest.
Since the park opened, the Supporters have worked in partnership with Wellington City Council to develop the park. Thousands of volunteers have donated their time to help build over 50kms of trails, planted tens of thousands of native plants, established a comprehensive trapping network to eradicate pest species and to encourage and restore our native flora and fauna.
The park
Mākara Peak Mountain Bike Park was established by Wellington City Council in 1998, in conjunction with the Mākara Peak Supporters, and encompasses Mākara Peak which dominates the skyline at the south end of Karori.
With the largest trail network in the lower North Island, Mākara Peak has something for riders of all ages and abilities. There are wide, flowing singletrack with gentle gradients that are perfect for beginners, children and families. Plus there are some of the steepest, narrowest and gnarliest trails that challenge the experts.
Trails weave through 250 hectares of regenerating native bush, there’s a 72m swing bridge - the first of it’s kind in an urban mountain bike park in New Zealand - and panoramic views across Wellington Harbour, Cook Strait and the Upper South Island from the summit.
Long term plans
The development of the park is underpinned by two key documents that help inform decision making by the Supporters and Wellington City Council:
How to get involved
In 2021 we set up a partnership with Trails Wellington, Wellington Mountain Bike Club and Brooklyn Trail Builders to establish a centralised membership package. If you’re keen to see more epic trails built at Mākara Peak and around Wellington then join Trails Wellington for as little as $30 a year. Simply head over to their website or visit your app store to download their phone app (search Trails Wellington). Not only do you get the privilege of supporting the hard work of countless volunteers, you get a raft of sweet discounts at bike shops, pubs, breweries and other like minded businesses around Wellington.
Over 4,500 volunteer hours are spent developing and maintaining the Park each year. If you would like to help by digging trail or planting trees, check out the events page here on the website for details of our upcoming working bees, keep up-to-date on our Facebook page or email us makarapeak@gmail.com.
The Supporters’ management committee
The Supporters’ management committee meets each month to discuss how the park can continue to improve, and organises activities in the park including coordinating volunteer work parties that build and maintain the trails, conservation activities such as tree planting and pest eradication, fundraising, events and other projects.
The management committee is supported by our Conservation sub-committee and Tracks sub-committee.
Mākara Peak Supporters’ constitution
There has been a change in the law around incorporated societies like ours. The main effect on us is that we need to implement a new constitution. Below are links to the current constitution and what we propose will be the new constitution. Although the new one is a lot longer than the current one, we don’t think there are any significant changes. What the new one does mostly is set out the rules that we have been applying anyway. It also complies with the stricter requirements under the new law. A Special General Meeting of members will be held in May 2025 to agree the new constitution.
Current constitution (effective from 2009)
Proposed new constitution (2025)
The Supporters’ Annual Report
Each year the Supporters produce an Annual Report outlining what’s happened in the park over the past 12 months and what’s planned for the next 12 months.
Over
80,000
Visits each year
over
35,000
native plants planted
in 15 years
Over
40km
of single track built
over
4,500
volunteer hours spent
developing and maintaining
the park each year
over
250ha
of regenerating native bush
Approximately
30%
of park users are
walkers or runners
