The Rameka Track
The Rameka Track is situated on Takaka Hill about an hour and a half drive west of Nelson. This ride is special being situated within the very popular Abel Tasman National Park which is normally off limits to mountainbikers. The reason you can ride the track here is that this old pack route is still a legal road. Take the Caanan Road turnoff at the top of Takaka Hill and drive around 11kms to the Harwoods Hole Carpark. From here go through the gate at the western end of the carpark and ride the 4WD track for 10-15mins to the start of the Rameka Track (signposted).
From here the track enters the bush and you'll find the next 40 minutes or so a real delight. Numerous challenges such as boulders and loose rocks, tree roots, fallen logs and twisting single track will try and distract your attention from the beautiful native bush that surrounds you. This section is 90% rideable and you should only have to get off for a few creek crossings. There is a final steep descent at the end of the bush track just to check your paying attention and then you'll find yourself into open farmland. Follow the farm track to your right, this descends into the Rameka Gorge and from there to East Takaka Road. This is a great time to get some wind whistling in your face, only stopping to check out some glorious views of Golden Bay.
Once on the tarseal follow the signposts to Takaka, this arty small town has a nice range of cafés where you can relax and recharge. The ride described so far takes around 2 hours, if you'll feeling fit and aren't scared of a good hill climb you can ride back up Takaka Hill then via Caanan Road back to your car. This will take another 2 1/2 to 3 hours so allow plenty of time. For the more sane around us take two cars and leave one at Takaka to get you back to the Harwoods Hole carpark.