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.
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.
This is a much loved bush reserve. Formerly part of Woodlands Estate, Hukutaia Domain was gifted to the people of Opotiki by E.M.Hutchinson. In 1918 it was set aside as a reserve, mainly to protect Taketakerau, an ancient burial tree which was once the final resting place of the ancestral remains of the Te Upokorehe iwi. The puriri tree was highly tapu (sacred, forbidden to touch).
Taketakerau is over 2000 years old. In 1913 after the tree was damaged in a storm, a large cache of bones was discovered hidden deep within the hollow of the old tree. After the tree was damaged the remains were buried elsewhere.
As well as the puriri burial tree and mighty tawa trees, the reserve has rare plants and abundant bird life. This is the noisiest reserve we’ve walked through as far as the birds go, probably because the pests and predators are kept down.
I give the reserve a triple A – for ancient, atmospheric and amazing.
This walk is off SH4, south of Te Kuiti. It’s a rough, moderately graded track up and down a steep hill in the bush reserve. You’ll need tramping shoes or boots if it’s not dry. We walked the track in winter and we had to be careful we didn’t slip in places.
If you go in the early morning or evening you are likely to hear the kokako, a rare native bird featured on our $50 notes. This reserve is a sanctuary for them. I didn’t see or hear any, but I did see a tomtit.
Mapara means ‘heartwood’ or wood saturated in resin.
Walk: Waikato and King Country 36
Links
The Mapara Wildlife Management Reserve is in steep hill country covered in a lowland forest of mixed broadleaf and scattered podocarps, 260-600 m above sea level. It is isolated from other forests by surrounding pasture and young plantation forests. Extensive control of introduced mammalian browsers and predators was undertaken between 1989 and 1997. This greatly increased kokako breeding success and allowed new pairs to establish.
The info board at the reserve said that elder of the Ngati Maniapoto tribe Tiwha Bell was a strong advocate for the work DOC did in Mapara. He has a strong affinity with Mapara – his father was one of the original land owners.
Lake Hakanoa is in the Waikato town of Huntly. Before 1879 Huntly was called ‘Rahui Pokeka.’
During the 1850s the area was occupied by the Ngati Mahuta and Ngati Whawhakia tribes who lived peacefully until the lake got overfished. To put and end to the quarelling and to conserve the fish, the paramount chief Potatou Te Whero Whero imposed a ban on fishing, called a ‘rahui.’
Rahui
A rahui is a period of prohibition over an area by marking a Pu rahui – a carved stick with notches which was driven into the ground. A flax cloak called a ‘pokeka‘ marked where the stick was. At the time of each new moon the tohunga (priest) would change the Pu rahui one more notch until it was below ground level. That was the sign to the people that they were allowed to fish again.
While the rahui was in effect the lake was tapu, forbidden. Lake Hakanoa was named after the haka that was performed when the rahui was over and they could fish again. The ceremony to lift the tapu was called ‘Noa.’
The lake walkway is split into thirteen zones including a native tree reserve, Japanese Garden, Global Garden, Wildlife Gardens, Palm Beach, Contemporary Maori Garden, Green Cathedral, Ponga Grove, wetlands and more. It’s a nice, easy flat walk and you get a good view of the Huntly power station from the lake.
The walkway had the most one-note Tuis I’ve ever heard. You’ll hear them on the video.
The A H Reed Memorial Park in Whangerei is a beautiful remnant of the original Northland kauri forest.
From the Carpark there’s a track to the Canopy Walk and the Pukenui Waterfall. The canopy walkway takes you over the Koromiko Stream and right through the trees. You can even touch a mature Kauri.
The site received recreational reserve staus in 1889 and was named in 1956 after A H Reed, a well known author and publisher who had an interest in long distance walking, the environment and kauri trees in particular.
The site of his parents homestead is on the opposite side of Clapham Road from the upper car park.
A H Reed was a significant player in protecting the falls from quarrying and retaining the kauri trees in the forest.
The Waipoua Forest is the place to see giant kauri trees. The ancient trees we saw were Tane Mahuta and Te Matua Ngahere.
Tane Mahuta means ‘Lord of the Forest’ and ‘Te Matua Ngahere’ means ‘Father of the Forest.’
There are four walking tracks: Tane Mahuta which is just off the road, and the other track leads to the Four Sisters, Te Matua Ngahere and the Yakas kauri. The tracks to the Four Sisters and the Yakas Kauri were closed because of the threat of kauri dieback.
Tane MahutaWaipoua RiverTe Matua Ngahere
Kaitiakitanga: means guardianship, protection, preservation or sheltering. It is a way of managing the environment, based on the traditional Māori world view. The guardian of the Waipoua Forest is the Te Roroa iwi (tribe) which is part of the Ngāti Whātua confederation of tribes.
The late Noel Hilliam from Dargaville Museum was one of the archaeologists working on the sites in the nearby Waipoua Forest. He states that nearly half a million dollars of taxpayers money went on excavations by 37 archaeologists in 1981 and in 1983. A local Kaumatua (elder) closed the whole site down and records deposited in Wellington archives had a hold put on them for 75 years. Attempts have been made over the years to get these records released but only a few sanitized results were forth coming and all original datings (2500 BC) have been destroyed.
Here is an excerpt from section 4.1 of that report from 1990 where I’ve highlighted what jumped out at me.
It’s criminal that the sites are being destroyed and covered with pines and bracken fern. An archeological reserve was proposed in 1985 but nothing seems to have come from it and it’s very hard to find information about the stone ruins. More info is in the links below.
‘Puke’ means ‘hill,’ Turehu’ are the original inhabitants of the land.
Turehu: Hoani Nahe, a Ngāti Maru (Hauraki) elder of the late 19th and early 20th centuries writes graphically of a people called the patupaiarehe and the tūrehu, who inhabited the land prior to the arrival of the Polynesian peoples. Source: TeAra, The Encyclopedia of NZ
Waipoua Whitewash, Challenging NZ History, Who were here first? “Waipoua Forest is best known for its primeval kauri trees, but there is also a major pine plantation in the forest which is wrecking the stone city. The roots of the pines are cracking ancient structures and when the pines are felled for timber, they’re likely to destroy a lot of the stone structures. Free ranging cattle are also damaging the site.” Source: elocal
This is another mainland island, like Bushy Park, but without the pest proof fence. It has about 200 kiwi. We returned at night hoping to see some but didn’t. There’s a 50-50 chance of seeing them. We heard one call and a morepork answered.
The park has some fine kauri trees but it’s not as well visited as the nearby Waipoua forest.
This forest is a gift to us from James Trounson, an early settler. The park opened in 1921.
This is a local walk through a patch of bush next to the Warkworth Museum. Parry Kauri Park has two mature Kauri trees next to the museum car park. The two large kauri trees are named in honour of the former landowners, Harry Parry and Tudor Collins. They were local identities who were largely responsible along with the Kauri Bushmen’s Association for raising the money to purchase the land.
It’s a great place for learning how to identify trees and you might get to see native birds at the bird feeder.
We haven’t seen birds tuck into the fruit on previous visits, but today we saw a pair of Silver-eyes enjoying the apples.
A pair of Silver-eyes at Parry Kauri park, Warkworth
The historic homestead is beautiful. My favourite feature is the stained glass window in the entrance foyer. I’ve been there several times before but it was the first visit for my husband and sister-in-law.
Highlights of the visit: the historic house and beautiful forest with it’s massive trees and bird-life. It’s not often you can walk through virgin bush with huge, ancient trees like Ratanui (photo on the left) and see incredibly rare forest birds like the Saddleback and the Hihi.
My own video – it’s nowhere near as good as above, but it shows the stables, and a bellbird feasting on nectar from red hot poker plants bordering the lawn.
↓
Bushy park, Wanganui
Bushy Park, Bellbird
Picture: The Twin Ponga path, a saddleback foraging on the forest floor, and a bellbird eating nectar by the lawn.
Walk: Wanganui 16
History
James Moore from the Shetland Islands arrived in New Zealand in June 1863. He and future brother-in-law James Currie founded the Bushy Park farm around 1865.
During the 1880’s the Moore/Currie partnership ended. The farm was prosperous and by 1890 it had become a significant property. Sadly during the 11 years from 1891 to 1902 the family perished, and the sole survivor was the youngest son, George Francis (Frank) Maitland Moore.
Frank commissioned C.Tilleard Natusch to design the Bushy Park Homestead and it was completed in 1906. He never married, and passed away in 1962 aged 85. He gifted his house and the attached forest to the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society.
“The seemingly never-ending maintenance of the old house was handled by teams of volunteers while further teams looked after the extensive grounds including lawns, hedges and tracks.
Frank Moore’s handyman, Ernie Paulger was the first custodian and retired in 1964. There were a number of custodians and managers in the thirty years following.”
7th Dec 2024 I went for another walk where we saw the rare hihi and saddleback birds. We also saw a bellbird. This video is of the birds encountered on our walk: Bushy Park birds, Dec 2024
NZShortWalks 