Otaki Riverbank North East Side, Kapiti Coast
Type of Course – Lollipop shape, out and back with two licks of the lollipop
Shoes Required – Road or trail, the surface is loose gravel.
Things to know
There is good car parking (accessed from either side of the highway) and a café near to the car park.
There are no toilets near the parkrun course, but there are public toilets near the Ōtaki shops, a 5 minute drive from the course.
There are no showers nearby.
Not permanently marked.
Cafe: River Cottage Café.
Location of start:
The event starts under the new motorway bridge.
Getting there by public transport
There is no public transport option on a Saturday morning
Getting there on foot
Head south from the Ōtaki shops on the state highway, the course is located on the north east side of the Ōtaki river, and is about a 20 minute walk from New World to the start area.
Getting there by road
- From Wellington, head north, as soon as you cross the Ōtaki river, turn left into the carpark.
- From Levin, head through Ōtaki, as you approach the Ōtaki river bridge, turn left and take a road under the road you were just on to get to the carpark.
- From the carpark, take the trail under the main road and walk for 5 minutes to the start area.
Stats
First run: January 1, 2022
Inaugural attendance: 111
Record attendance: 111 (01/01/2022)
Course records
Women: Hannah Wade 20:50 (15/01/2022)
Men: Josh Jordan 16:22 (02/04/2022)
The store behind Otaki River parkrun…
Mark O’Sullivan, founding co-event director
“We started in 2012 doing parkrun at Lower Hutt.
“When I first started (it was my brother Martin who got me to come along) I was 40 and probably 112kg.
“My kids were duly following Daddy’s footsteps and getting overweight and unfit as well.
“Then parkrun got me into getting myself fit and the family fit and it’s a debt you can’t really repay to the people, such as Richard McChesney, who started Lower Hutt parkrun.
“I thought how great would that be if even one family in Ōtaki was able to have the same life-changing experience of finding some level of fitness for them or their whānau.
“That was the main reason, hopefully for someone in the community to come along and change their life.
“We’ve got a bach up here. We’re up here every weekend at the beach and so it’s our, I’d usually say second home but it’s now more of our first home.
“The only reason we’re still in the Hutt is we work in Wellington. We’re here all the time.”
While in Ōtaki
Forest Lake
Cooking classes with Ruth Pretty
Lavender Creek Farm
Visit the Tararua Forest Park
Beaches at Ōtaki, Te Horo, Peka Peka, Waikanae
Māoriland Hub, home to the Māoriland Film Festival in March.