Walk #155, 29th January 2025
The walk is located in the Coromandel Forest Park and Kauaeranga Valley, up the road from the Doc Kauaeranga Visitor Centre. You get a good view of the ranges and Kauaeranga Valley from the lookout.
The forest was silent, I only heard one bird. Doc is using poison instead of traps to control the pests.
Related walks:
Kauaeranga Valley, Hoffmans Pool
Links
Walk #154, 29th January 2025
This magnificent Kauri escaped the axe because of its unusually square shaped trunk. It’s a short but steep climb to the tree. There’s a good view of the Coromandel mountain ranges from the platform.
Walk: Coromandel 3
Links
Walk #153, 29th January 2025
This is a small grove of tall Kauri that escaped the axe. There’s also an unusual double-trunked Kauri, from two seedlings fused together. And if that isn’t enough beauty, there’s a small waterfall and pool about 500m down the gravel road. You have to drive past it to get to the grove.
Walk: Coromandel 3
Links
Walk #142, 6th December 2024
This small patch of bush near Te Awamutu is a tiny remnant of the Kahikatea forests that once covered the Waikato Basin. From the sign on the walk I read that today only 3.5% of the forests remain. There are 4922 forest fragments. A few are larger areas, but most are less than 25 hectares.
The only birds in the reserve are the more common tui, fantail and grey warbler.
The Kahikatea, more like a pine tree with its straight white trunk, was named “white pine.” It wasn’t any good for house timber, instead the wood was used for things like butter boxes.
Walk: Waikato 24
Links
Walk #140,19th October 2024
This is a two hour return walk between two of the lakes of Rotorua. The walk starts at Korokitewao Bay at Lake Rotoiti and ends at Lake Rotoehu.
In 1823 Hongi Hika attacked Arawa in Rotorua. He had muskets and he was bent on revenge. They dragged their war canoes from Lake Rotoehu across to Lake Rotoira using the track as a portage, and from there through a canal into Lake Rotorua.
Hongi also attacked Te Koutu pa at Lake Okataina.
A small loop track leads to Hinehopu’s tree, a sacred matai at the side of SH30. Hinehopu was hidden here as a baby and it’s where she met her husband to be, Pikiao. (This is from a different time and not related to Hongi Hika’s attack on Rotorua).
Hinehopu’s Matai tree
Korokitewao Bay, Lake Rotoira, where the track begins
Walk: Rotorua 28
Related walk
One of Hongi’s war canoes was made into a pataka that is now at Te Papa. See the walk at Papaitonga Scenic Reserve, Levin where the pataka from Te Takinga, Lake Rotoiti ended up before being donated to the Dominion Museum.
Links
Te Arawa tribes today include Ngāti Pikiao, Tūhourangi and Ngāti Whakaue
On the point on the left hand as the bay is entered, where the trees dip their thirsty branches so low that they touch the water, once stood Te Ari kainga, a village of the ancient lake people …
Walk # 11th April 2017
The Kaitoke Regional Park lies in the foothills of the Tararua Range near Wellington. It’s a catchment area for nearly half of Wellington’s water supply and the surrounding virgin bush is made up of old rata, beech and rimu trees.
Near the carpark a short side path leads to the site of Rivendell from the Lord of the Rings films.
We visited the park in 2017 but only had time to look at the LOTR location. The bush and river setting is so lovely, I can see why it was chosen for the Rivendell setting. It’s a walk we’ll return to.
Nothing remains of Rivendell except this replica arch.
The tree where Legolas posed for publicity photos.
Besides the LOTR location there are a number of short walks. The main walk, a loop along the Hutt River, begins over a swing bridge from the carpark.
Walk: Wellington 9
Walk #139, 30th Sept 2024
This bush clad mountain is a familiar site when I’m travelling, but I’ve never stopped to explore this intriguing area until now. The book I had with me recommended a climb to the Ruapane lookout, but I decided to skip it in favour of two introductory walks, the Mangakara Nature walk and the Corcoran Road lookout leading to the Ruapane lookout.
I was fortunate to hear a Kokako at the Corcoran Road lookout. The birds have been reintroduced to the area by the Pirongia Te Aroaro o Kahu Restoration Society Inc in partnership with DOC. The pest control area is shown in the bottom right of the picture.
Also this mountain range has the tallest native tree in NZ.
I find this area intriguing as Mt Pirongia and Wairenga Reserve near Raglan are associated with the patupaiarehe, a white tribe the Maori saw as fairies because of their pale skin. They were said to have lived on Hihikiwi peak, a pyramid shaped peak on Mount Pirongia. The patupaiarehe also lived on Mount Ngongotaha in Rotorua, but moved west after they were accidentally or deliberately burned out by the Maori.
We stopped for lunch in a park at Pirongia and there in front of us were three pou dedicated to the patupaiarehe. There was also a large polished stone sculpture representing Pirongia Maunga (mountain) and the patupaiarehe children of the mist.
Links
Here’s an interesting video taken at Purekireki marae near Pirongia, where an elder of the Ngaati Taramatau hapu speaks of the patupaiarehe.
Patupaiarehe – Waka Huia explores the existence of the Mist people
He says (18.38) “there was speculation they were our ancestors.” I wouldn’t be surprised given their appearance, there are a few freckled faces and redheads surrounding him.
The true meaning of the name Pirongia-te-aroaro-o-Kahu is “the odour from Kahu’s nether regions.” It is explained between 10:39 and 11:46 of the video. Puawhea was the name given for Mt Pirongia by the Patupaiarehe.
The name of their god was Io Matuakore but his name was never mentioned. Uenuku was used instead. Uenuku is associated with the rainbow. Interestingly, for those who say the Moriori never were in NZ, the Moriori also have a god called Ouenuku.
Whanawhana
In 1894 Hoani Nahe, an elder of the Ngāti Maru people, recalled three sub-tribes of patupaiarehe: Ngāti Kura, Ngāti Korakorako, and Ngāti Tūrehu. Tahurangi, Whanawhana, and Nukupori were important chiefs. Source: TeAra.govt.nz
“It was Whanawhana’s ambition to want a relationship with Maori that he connected with Tawhaitu, the wife of Ruarangi. There was no negativity about these people …” (28.52)
Walk: Waikato 23
Related walks
Links
MOUNT PIRONGIA (959 METRES) IS AN ANCIENT VOLCANO CENTRAL TO THE 17,000 HECTARE PIRONGIA FOREST PARK THAT, WITH ITS DRAMATIC SKYLINE, IS ONE OF THE MOST DISTINCTIVE FEATURES IN THE WAIKATO DISTRICT. Explore the Mountain
Walk #135
This reserve is said to have the largest kauri on Auckland’s North Shore. The walk begins after you pass the playground and it follows a pleasant little stream through the bush.
This wood pigeon (kereru) was in the reserve feasting on Nikau berries.
Walk: Auckland 6
Walk #134 12th September 2024
Hakarimata Reserve is in the hills between Ngaruawahia and Huntly. The range of hills, Haakari-kai-mata (shortened to Hakarimata) was named after an abundance of food from a feast held between the Waikato people and nearby Ngāti Maniapoto.
The reserve has one of the largest kauri trees in the Waikato which somehow escaped the axe and a beautiful kauri grove. The trees are on the Kauri Loop track.
According to local lore Ngāti Kahupungapunga were said to be the people that populated the area around Ngāruawāhia/Karakariki. The original name of the Hākarimata is a denotion to these people, it originally was called whāwhāpunga – or pungapunga whāwhā – this was one of the many caverns of the Kahupungapunga people. There were remnants of these people who lived in caverns out west towards Te Pahu also.
Walk: Waikato 14
Links
Walk #125, 30th April 2024
The Manginangina Kauri walk is a short walk in a big forest with towering Kauri trees along the boardwalk. The Puketi-Omahuta forest is the second largest in Northland, situated 14 kilometres west of Kerikeri.
The forest is undergoing extensive pest control so they can bring back birds like the kokako.
In early 2000 there were only seven male kokako left. In 2013/2014 kokako were finally brought back to Puketi. Kokako have their own dialect which the female birds had to learn prior to release. It’s not clear whether the population has increased since 2020. I hope so.
2017 Puketi Forest Trust’s battle for kokako leads to breeding success
Walk: Northland 7
Links
Turehu Voices ‘Heard’ in the Puketi Bush, Northern Advocate, 1948
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