The Great K Valley Adventure Race is back for a second year.

The event, which runs on the cycleways in and around Tauranga's Kopurererua Valley – or ‘K Valley' – will be held on Sunday, March 3.

Organised by Rotary Tauranga Sunrise, the inaugural 2018 cycling scavenger hunt was a huge success, and expectations are high that the 2019 event will be even better.

The race combines a scavenger hunt, mountain biking, map reading and puzzle solving, and all by bicycle.

As a team or an individual, the event encourages the best of all disciplines to locate clues and points hidden in K Valley, culminating in an overall puzzle to solve.

The fundraising adventure race is designed to be great fun for families, adventurers, friends and workmates, and winning requires a little luck, willpower and mastery.

Kopurererua Valley Reserve is one of Tauranga's largest, and provides a variety of different experiences from farmland to native bush and ponds. It features an exciting network of tracks linking the Bethlehem area to Cameron Road, through bush and alongside waterways.

The 300-hectare block of low lying rural land is situated between residential neighbourhoods in Tauranga. Running from Judea in the north to Tauriko in the south, the valley is bordered by the neighbourhoods of Te Reti, Gate Pa, Greerton, Westridge and Cambridge Heights.

In November 2017, Kopurererua Valley won a merit award in the Outstanding Park category of the New Zealand Recreation Association Awards.

For many years, Kopurererua Valley was inhabited by the people of Ngai Tamarawaho. Remains of the pa and other archaeological sites are located throughout the valley.

During the mid-1800s it was the staging point and retreat path of two significant battles between Maori and British colonial forces.

The 12km of walkways and cycleways has entrance sculptures and a large stand of kahikatea trees. The extensive native planting amongst the wetlands enhances the views and screens the roadway at key locations.

More than 100 people took part in the 2018 event, raising around $1400 for the Graeme Dingle Foundation.

Committee chairman Warren Scobie was very pleased with the results.

'It really exceeded expectations,” says Warren. 'We ended up with 104 people, made up of teams and individuals.

'There were a lot of families that participated, which is really what we wanted.”

Warren says the racing and puzzle parts of the challenge became a leveller among those taking part, so a person's fitness or cycling skills was not so important.

Families can enter up to five riders, with one or two adults, and children of any age riding in a family group. Corporate and team entries are made up of up to four riders, aged 13 years and over.

The fundraiser will allow Sunrise to continue to support the work of local charities.

During the event, which runs from 11am - 4pm, individual riders and teams can also win spot prizes and team prizes. Registrations start from 10am.

Entries can be made by registering at: www.eventspronto.co.nz/kvalley