Old Mill Road at Donnelly’s Crossing north of Dargaville was previously a council road approximately seven kilometres long.  Following cyclone Bola in 1988, it became unpassable. There were many slips, however bikes and foot traffic were still able to enjoy the beauty of the stream running alongside and travelling through the native bush.

Fast forward 30 years and now even walkers struggle to get through the overgrown trees, the rocky walkway where the streams have now overtaken the road and the concrete surfaces on the bridge that are covered in mud. After many years of neglect, it is hard to identify that there was once a road.

Kaipara Cycling, a newly formed local cycling group decided to approach the locals in Donnelly’s and offer their help to tidy up the road so it can again become fit for recreational use. This was warmly welcomed, and a working bee was held.  Several members of the club turned up with chain saws, spades and clippers to battle the overgrowth. The mud was cleared from the bridge and trees were trimmed back. Several culverts had been clogged up with rocks and trees which had caused the stream to redirect onto the road. Work was done to unclog the culverts which will eventually help the road to begin to dry out.

Rob Wadmore a Kaipara Cycling Club member explains “there must have been some significant earth movement over the years because we had to pull rocks to about 600mm before we located the top of the culvert and there were some big rocks!  It was tricky work because we had to keep the outflow of the stream draining our ever-increasing hole so that we could see what we were doing!”.

There is still much work to be done however it has made a significant difference to the road and will definitely aid the accessibility for the recreational bike rider or walker in the future.

If you would like to become a member of the club or have an interest in riding in the Kaipara area look up the facebook page Kaipara Cycling for more information.