Easter is often a great time to go to Rameka: the weather is generally good that time of year and it’s a perfect opportunity to get away from the “madden crowd”. In Easter 2025, a group went across, and we focused on giving some love to Great Expectations and fixing several out-of-grade features. This is a grade 3 track, but some switchbacks were too tight and a couple of bridges needed work (one needed replacement).
Many thanks to Bronnie Wall, Richard Mansfield, Nicole Benkert, Grant Fraser, Tony LeSuer, Bob Clapp, Chris Burr, Ricky and Corina Ward. You all did great work!
Also thanks to Greg Burghardt for inspecting all the structures and drawing up plans for the bridges.
Bob, Chris, Jonathan and Richard moved a tricky large rock so the switchback could be widened. The stone now sits as a centerpiece to the corner, which we widened out to 2.7m radius.Ricky checks out the realignment. Shifting the big boulder and swinging the switchback wider has made this section significantly easier to ride (up in particular).Jonathan and Richard re-building a 3.6m bridge. Thanks for the plans Greg Burghardt.And the finished product makes for a smooth ride in either direction!While a group of us were busying ourselves with bridge work, Grant and Tony smashed out rock to increase the radius of this corner from 1.75m to 2.0m, and then Chris and Bob took it even further with a rock breaker the following day.And the result, once a waratah guide rail was added, is a 2.2m switchback with some reassurance to encourage grade 3 riders to give this one a go.Meanwhile, Jonathan and Ricky combined their supreme expertise to address a somewhat scary boardwalk. First built many years ago by Brian Sowman and Paul Whittaker, much water had flowed under this bridge, and the lead in/off had become a muddy step that caused many a rider to wobble their way along the wooden decking. The addition of a handrail was the first port of call, but bolting the railing in place required some dedicated stretching and deep thinking …On ANZAC day, Ricky and Corina checked the last post. And then it was time to pack up and head on out …With a little bit of time for some tree checking once the work was done and …some more time to appreciate the smaller things at the project.
