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.
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
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.
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 …
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.
A map shows the location of Frodo’s bedroom and Elrond’s house. The Pakuratahi river flows near the set before joining the Hutt River.
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.
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.
Patupaiarehe Pou, Pirongia “These are representative of patupaiarehe fairies that live on Pirongia Maunga. TeNgahereReserve.”Rock 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.
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)
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
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.
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.
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.
We climbed a lot of steps for a view that’s okay but not stunning. The lookout platform is small and the trees are obscuring parts of the vista. The quarry at the bottom is lovely.
The elevation was 702 feet.
Most of the forest was Taraire / broadleaf which produces purple berries the native birds love.
The highlight of the walk was meeting firemen practising for the Sky Tower climb. One of them was wearing his yellow firefighters gear. I know we all appreciate those guys.
This small reserve was bequethed by Charles Carter, an early Wairarapa pioneer. The town of Carterton is named after him.
It’s an area of swamp and semi-swamp forest on two old terraces of the Ruamahanga river. The DOC sign noted that some of the swamp loving kahikatea and totara trees have died since the river changed its flow.
We followed a not-very-well signposted track to the Ruamahanga river and leaving the river we followed a track that skirts the bush. The trees are mainly kahikatea, titoki and matai.
It’s all that’s left of the lowland bush that once covered the Wairarapa plain.
This is a beautiful little bush reserve on the outskirts of New Plymouth. Most of the lowland bush has gone except for this small remnant. There was some logging in the past though as there was a saw pit alongside the Nikau loop track.
It’s a bit different from the bush on the flanks of Mt Taranaki. This bush has a sub tropical feel. There are some good info boards along the track.
Zealandia is an urban sanctuary in the Karori suburb of Wellington, our capital. The bush surrounds a former reservoir. The reserve is home to our rarest birds and Tuatara, a native reptile. Zealandia has been so successful that Kaka, one of our native parrot species, has established itself outside of the pest proof fence. They stopped tagging them when the numbers grew to over 1000.
You can see Tuatara in their natural habitat. A guide gave us a talk on them as we sat and had our lunch. They’re most commonly found at the research area behind the fences.
The entry fee is well worth it. There’s also a cafe.
You can get to the sanctuary from the top of the Cable Car, there’s a free electric shuttle van which travels back and forth.
While we were waiting for the shuttle bus we took a walk in the Botanic Gardens.
Tuatara
Walk #109 Wellington Botanic Gardens, 14th November 2023
This walk started at the top of the cable car. We only had time to have a quick look at the Discovery Garden and Treehouse before heading back up the hill for the bus to Zealandia.
NZShortWalks 