Map reading, puzzle solving, and biking are the ingredients that go into making the Great K Valley Cycle Adventure a whānau friendly fun day out.

Set in the Kopurererua Valley Reserve and run by Rotary Club of Tauranga Sunrise, the event will be held on this Sunday, April 16.

'The scavenger hunt is environmentally-focused, takes entrants to areas that are usually unexplored, and highlights what an asset the valley is to the community,” says the club's director of the environment committee, Michele Beaton.

Cyclists set off between 10am and 12pm on April 16 from the west end of 17th Ave near the skate park – and funds raised from the event will go to the Graeme Dingle Foundation which supports children in many ways, including the school-facilitated Kiwi Can programme.

Michelle says the valley is the biggest wetland restoration in New Zealand and is home to a wide range of species.

'Wetlands are amazing. They suck up greenhouse gasses, are somewhere for excess flood waters to go, and are a real hidden gem that many people don't even realise are there.”

The combined Rotary Clubs of Tauranga have been assisting Tauranga City Council with regeneration of the valley since the millennium, with annual planting, rat trapping and fundraising efforts.

Highlighting the long Māori history of the area, Michele says: 'It's important for people to know that Ngāi Tamarāwaho is mana whenua of Kopurererua Valley”.

'They've done a lot of work in partnership with the council in the valley and with its river, and also in raising awareness of Puketoromiro Pā located towards the southern end of the valley.”

For more information on The Great K Valley Cycle Adventure and to enter, see: www.eventspronto.co.nz