Otanewainuku rises to 640m high and is covered in virgin forest. A loop track leads to the lookout tower which is too overgrown to give spectacular views. We were fortunate while up there to meet Patricia, a fit and inspirational local who regularly climbs the track to the summit for exercise.
We started the track clockwise and met a little robin on our way up. There are kiwi in the forest as well.
The walk was done the day before Cyclone Vaianu arrived in the Bay of Plenty. We did the Rimu Loop walk on 17th December 2025.
Meaning of name Ōtānewainuku: This sacred mountain of Waitaha is 645m high with many settlements located on and around it. Ōtānewainuku is the headwater of many local streams and its name means “the many waters that spring forth from the domain of Tāne (the god of the forests)”. Another definition is “the mountain of the parting waters, where the clouds meet the land, and the rain leaves the sky.” Source: waitaha-iwi.org.nz
A walk through a rare patch of bush on the southern coast of Waiheke Island. Although Waiheke Island is the Hauraki Gulf’s second biggest island, it’s been intensively farmed and very little bush remains. The forest on this walk consisted mainly of punga, kohekohe and taraire trees. I didn’t see any kauri trees.
The walk was ho-hum and not well sign-posted.
The best forests on Waiheke Island are on private land. We carried on to the Man O’War Forest Zip-line where we got to walk and fly through big stands of kauri. I recommend the experience.
I give the walk a low rating because of the lack of signage. It was supposed to be ‘the School Loop Track’ but I couldn’t find it.
Murphy’s Bush in the Auckland suburb of Flatbush at 26 hectares is the largest remaining lowland bush remnant in Auckland. The forest used to have fields all around it until a population the size of my city got jammed into the area.
The reserve is now an oasis in a featureless desert of high density housing. It would be interesting to see who stayed after the bulldozers razed the original houses. Apart from the bush and the old Flatbush School Hall, the area has been completely transformed, in accordance with the neo-liberal “new Auckland plan.” The culture and character of the original community has been lost.
I am glad Murphys Bush is protected. The forest was preserved and gifted to the Manukau City Council in 1981 by the Murphy family. The reserve is divided by a road, most is on the left of Murphy’s Road. It’s a haven for birds and for people who want a quiet place to walk.
What I did notice in this tiny bush remnant was the bird noise. We could hear the native birds, unlike the silent forests managed by DOC. Unlike other countries, DOC uses cruel 1080 poison for pest control, killing the birds along with the predators. We’ve noted the difference on our walks.
As one of Auckland’s newest housing areas, Flat Bush complies with the aims of the new Auckland Plan which calls for more medium and high density housing. As a result, the area is taking on an “exciting but very different look” from the traditional quarter acre pavlova paradise of old New Zealand. East Auckland Tourism
Stancombe Cottage The small heritage cottage was moved from its site next to the Buddhist temple on Stancombe Road in 2011 and restored by Howick Local Board for community use. Stancombe Cottage
2016 “A concrete carpet is being rolled over the former paddocks of Flat Bush, in Auckland’s south east. The city has spread to make room for its growing population and as newcomers – many from China and India – moved to Flat Bush en mass, original dwellers have had to adapt or abscond. Most lifestyle blocks on its urban fringe have already been snapped up by local and Chinese property developers, who have granted temporary leases to residents before bulldozers take over.” Stuff: Flat Bush: Auckland’s big new town In the article one of the original residents, an elderly man named Elton asked neighbours to help with the search for his dog Sophie, “but not one of them spoke English.”
This pa is ringed on three sides by a high defensive ditch and the Waitara River on the fourth. There’s a second ditch inside the first. The ditches are so well constructed that even now, centuries later it’s still impressive. Food pits called ‘rua’ are still visible, despite being covered by centuries of leaf litter.
The way in is not very welcoming as there’s a screen of kawakawa bushes, but once you’re through it’s easy to walk around. There are karaka trees throughout the site and a big totara tree that would have been growing there when the site was still occupied.
The track begins at a farm on the end of Ngatimaru road. You can park near the farm shed. The track is over farmland marked by an orange trail marker.
Ngati Maru descend from an ancient Taranaki people known as the Kāhui-Maru, whose genealogy predates the arrival of the explorer Toi. Kahui means a flock, a name which is only applied to the tangata-whenua people. (Source: Tangata Whenua – The ancient inhabitants of Taranaki)
Ngāti Maru were not involved in the land dealings which led to war in Taranaki in 1860, and were not directly involved in the subsequent fighting. Source: Ngāti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Act 2022
The Musket Wars
Taranaki was a fertile land that was home to 8 Māori tribes before it was devastated by the Waikato invasions that began in 1817. It would be left almost uninhabited for the next seven years before European colonisation began in 1841.
And here’s another video about Taranaki by Kiwi Codger. In this podcast Kiwi Codger critiques the New Zealand Herald article on the destruction of Parihaka in South Taranaki. Like much of our news today, it presents good information out of context, and reinforces negative impressions of the colonization of New Zealand. He also outlines the importance of accessing all the factual information available, and describe where you can find many of the early books, diaries, and official records in order to form your own informed opinions. Be sure to check out Kiwi Codger’s YouTube videos on the Musket Wars. I’ve just summarized what happened; Kiwi Codger brings it to life!
This walk is tucked into the foothills of the Tararua Ranges.
The video actually covered two walks; the Donnelly’s Flat Loop track which was split on either side of the track to Rocky Lookout.
There has been a bit of storm damage but the track is well maintained. The bush here is beautiful but we didn’t hear many birds.
The Rocky Lookout was excellent, with extensive views of Mount Holdsworth and Atiwhakatu valley.
Right now NZ is experiencing a very dismal summer. We would have stopped for a snack at the viewpoint but it was too cold and exposed to linger.
The highlight of the Donnelly’s loop track were the abundant kidney ferns, some were even growing in trees.
The Mt Holdsworth lookout is further up the Gentle Annie track, we stopped at Rocky Lookout.
Walk: Wairarapa 3
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Notes
Further up the Gentle Annie Track is the remains of a pa punanga, a refuge pa. This ridge was a temporary refuge for Maori from the Rangitane tribe to hide from raiding war parties. All that remains are small terraces and basic earthworks
The Kahuterawa Valley is located near Palmerston North in the foot of the Tararua Ranges.
We walked the Sledge track in the Kahuterawa Valley with our friend who knows the area. He was very keen to go as far as we could.
Having now walked the track, if you’ve only got a couple of hours I recommend only going as far as the Arapuke Swing Bridge.
From the swing bridge it’s all uphill on a ridge with no views. That part of the track is called “the Elevation.” There are no helpful signs on this section, just a hand-painted sign in red saying “2.8.kms to B.B.”
We had no idea what that stood for, it could have been “Black Bridge,” but that was back the way we came! Further up we came to a fork, which could have been the Toe Toe Junction, leading to some platinum ore mines from the late 1800s and early 1900s. With no signage we didn’t know where or how far it was. We carried on uphill for another 15 minutes and met some people coming back from the platinum mines – which we didn’t have the time budget for, so we went back the way we came.
The track is semi-maintained. I give it three stars because of the lack of signage and bush bashing.
The area has important biodiversity values including regionally important remnant kāmahi forest, and a nationally endangered carnivorous land snail. Kahuterawa Outdoor Recreation Plan
This is the prettiest waterfall I have ever seen. A weir above the falls diverts some of the river through a power station so the falls are greatly diminished from their original power. Even so the area has still maintained its natural beauty.
Omanawa Falls was the first underground hydro-generating power station in the country and entire southern hemisphere. It was constructed in 1913-1915 for the city of Tauranga, which at that time had a population of around 1500 people .
Ngati Hangarau, the tribe who are kaitieke (guardians) of the area hold the river and falls as a sacred place.
There are three different viewpoints. We saw the falls from two of the lookouts but didn’t do the third, the Te Harikoa Lookout at the base of the falls. It would have taken an extra 662 stairs and 40 minutes; time we didn’t have.
What we did see was wonderful, a single drop waterfall in front of a cave, surrounded by native bush with the water splashing into a sapphire coloured pool.
As well as native birds the pekapeka, long tailed bats, have been recorded flying around the Omanawa Valley.
There’s a cafe at the car parking area near the start of the track.
The earliest people known to have lived in the Tauranga area are the Purukupenga, whose name alone survives, and the Ngamarama, who inhabited all the land from the Waimapu Stream to the Kaimai ranges. So numerous were these people that when the Tainui canoe passed through the Tauranga harbour, she made only a brief stay. Source: Tauranga Local History
Ngati Hangarau, the guardians of the area, are a sub-tribe of Ngati Ranginui of the Takitimu canoe.
This walk is near Lake Okataina in the Rotorua Lakes area. The track follows a crater rim and leads to views over two lakes, Lakes Rotongata and Rotoatua. The views are better away from the viewing area.
I give it 3 stars because the views in most part are blocked by trees.
I recommend the Te Auheke Track (Cascades Track) instead.
The NZ Motor Caravan site provides this helpful info:
Time: 40 min loop
Distance: 1.5 km
The track passes a sheer cliff face which is covered with moss and ferns. At night, thousands of glow worms can be seen. The picturesque Cascade Falls (around 10 m high) pour water over and around many rock protrusions and inspired the track’s name: Te Auheke means ‘tumbling water’.
Getting there: Start at the back of the field behind the Outdoor Education Centre.
Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari is an ancient volcano in the central Waikato. It’s the largest predator-fenced eco-sanctuary in the world.
The mountain has been recognised as a reserve since 1912. In 2001, the community came together to form the Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust (MEIT) with the goal to restore and protect Maungatautari’s ecosystem. In 2002, the fence build got under way and by 2004 all mammals were eradicated from the initial two enclosures. The mountain is now completely enclosed by a pest-proof fence.
The Northern Enclosure
Our walk was through the Northern enclosure. We didn’t hear any birds, they are spread out over 3400 hectares and the forest is very old and tall. The only native bird we did see was a Kingfisher (Kotare) sitting on a fence post on our way in.
Kingfisher or Kotare
You have to park your car at the Maungatautiri Marae and walk for about 45 minutes to get to the actual walk, and the last part is steep. There’s a rope to help you up if needed. The walk inside the enclosure is about 35 minutes. So budget about two hours of time for the walk including the ‘there and back.’
History
The area has a long history of settlement. The first inhabitants, the indigenous Ngāti Kahupungapunga people, were annihilated by the Maori Raukawa tribe before the 16th century. The Tainui tribes Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Wairere, Ngāti Hauā and Ngāti Korokī still own lands on the slopes.
“We are the largest predator-fenced eco-sanctuary in the world. A little fun fact: We are as big as Uluru in Australia and 10 times the size of Central Park [in New York],” SMM general manager Helen Hughes said.
Over the years, Maungatautari has become a sanctuary for endangered birds, native wildlife and plants.
Ngati Kahupungapunga | Some 400 years ago, they occupied all of the valley of the Waikato from Huntly to Taupo and Rotorua. They had many settlements along the Waikato River, including Karapiro.
Pelorus Bridge, at the junction of the Rai and Pelorous Rivers, is a small island of native bush which escaped the axe because a town was planned for the site. It was soon recognised as a beauty spot and in 1912 it became a scenic reserve.
The site was used as a film location for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
Sceenit: Pelorus River The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
The juction of the Pelorus and Rai rivers was an old Maori trail. There had been a small kainga (village) in the area which was abandoned during the bitter fighting of the Maori Musket Wars. By the time Europeans arrived the area was largely uninhabited.
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