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
The lookout is situated between Karekare and Piha beaches. The views weren’t great, we couldn’t see Lion Rock because cyclone Vaianu was on its way from Fiji.
We didn’t realise at first we were walking on a pa site related to the ancient Turehu. The inhabitants of this ancient pa lived on the cliffs either from fear of people or fear of a tsunami.
The full name of Te Ahua Point is ‘Te Ahua O Hinerangi.’ Hinerangi was a Turehu ancestress. A pou (carved pole) dedicated to a descendant of the same name looks out toward the Tasman Sea. This Hinerangi died of a broken heart after losing her husband to a rogue wave while fishing on the rocks at Piha.
Hinerangi
The info board maintains the site was one of those chosen by the ancestors of Te Kawau a Maki who lived here for its position and proximity to Hikurangi. Hikurangi was the name given to the main mountainous range that formed part of Te Wao nui a Tiwa, the great forest of Tiriwa. Tiriwa was the chief of the Waitakere Turehu.
The ancestors of Te Kawau a Maki are the Turehu, a pre-Maori people. Their hair colours ranged from white and dull-golden, with red being predominant in the general population. There were also shades of brown through to black. Braided samples of this multi-coloured hair (taken from the Waitakere rock shelters) used to be on display at Auckland War Memorial Museum and were written about by Maori Historian, Sir Peter Buck.
There is more about the Turehu here, under the heading ‘Waitakere Turehu, Auckland‘ …
There is a radar station at the site. In 1948 two pioneering radio astronomers determined for the first time the source of radio waves from outside the solar system. The radio signals were identified as coming from three stars, Taurus-A, Centaurus-A and Virgo-A. Taurus-A is the remnant of the famous Crab Nebula, a super nova in the constellation of Taurus which exploded in 1054 AD.
About 15 years before Captain James Cook arrived, Ngati Whatua took over the Tamaki isthmus by warfare (note: Maori land ownership kept changing as tribes grew stronger) and yet even then, the Kawerau in the Waitakere’s were still recognised as the iwi whenua of the Waitakere when others such as the Maruiwi and Waiohua became extinct or absorbed into Ngati-Whatua, (In effect, they became the same as Maori absorbed into European bloodlines today – if you think about it!). The remnants of the Kawerau lived in Mahurangi and Omaha after these times. Source: The Kawerau
“Te Kawerau ā Maki are a West Auckland-based iwi. Our origins arise through whakapapa to the first human inhabitants of the land – the Tūrehu, and descent from the early migratory people to settle the region, such as the Tini ō Maruiwi and Te Tini ō Toi, to the arrival of the Tainui, Aotea, Moekakara, Tokomaru, Kahuitara, and Kurahaupo canoes in the 14th century, and the Ngati Awa, Ngāoho, and Ngāiwi people who occupied the wider area prior to 1600.” Source: Te Kawerau a Maki
The walk begins to the north of the ferry terminal at Matiatia. The first ten minutes of the walk is along the beach and it’s best to go either side of low tide.
The picturesque views include Rangitoto Island and downtown Auckland. The track passes some of the island’s most expensive houses with their manicured gardens and sculptures. There’s an interesting dog made of timber at Cable Bay.
It’s a slog up a lot of steps at Cable Bay until you get to Delamore Drive. The road has a gate which you pass through and after that a long track downhill track leads back to the ferry terminal at Matiatia.
Stony Batter is at the end of Man O’War Bay road. It’s an impressive remnant of New Zealand’s coastal defense system. While very little remains above ground, the rooms and tunnels below ground are really well preserved.
The walk along the gravel road past farmland and grape vines gives sweeping views of the Hauraki Gulf out to the Coromandel peninsula.
The area takes its name from distinctive rock formations that are the remnants of two ancient volcanos.
There is a charge to enter the batter, in order to maintain the site. The historic site was built in 1942 and finished after the war. It’s managed by the archaeologist leasing it.
Stony Batter rock formationOld WW2 kerosene heaterStony Batter walk
The 7km long walk goes from the port to the estuary of the Waiwhakaiho River. We started at the other end, next to the Te Rewa Rewa Bridge because I wanted to get that perfect shot of the bridge and Mount Taranaki. It was too cloudy for that in the early afternoon, so we walked as far as the Fitzroy Beach reserve. We didn’t have time to go any further.
We’ve done the walk from the other end on a blustery day with friends in 2017.
We returned at 6pm for the sunset shot and this time it was perfect.
Mount Taranaki can be seen on a clear day, usually in the evening, from the hill where I live in Wanganui, see below.
The walk was busy at times with cyclists who I can’t always hear on the path, but because of that awesome bridge I rate it as a solid four. The bridge was opened in 2010 and is part of the northern extension to the Coastal Walkway, connecting New Plymouth with Bell Block.
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
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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
This old pa site at Aotea Harbour was right at the doorstep of the place where we stayed for two nights. The harbour in front of the pa was named after the Aotea canoe which is said to have arrived around 1300.
The Tainui canoe arrived about 50 years later and the people from that canoe settled at nearby Kawhia, just down the coast. The Tainui and Aotea tribes lived in harmony until the 1600s when battles started because the Kawhia people were expanding.
The two tribes united when their rohe (area) came under attack around 1800 from inland Tainui. The defeated people fled south to take refuge in pa still controlled by Te Rauparaha, trekking to Taranaki and then on to Horowhenua.
For a long time after their defeat this pa site was left empty, until the defeat of Waikato by Ngapuhi at Matakitahi in 1826 when survivors from that conflict settled here.
The book said it was an easy climb to the top – no it wasn’t. The long grass came half way up my body and it was impossible walking through it. Plus there was some dead gorse in the midst of the vegetation. I did not want to disappear into an old kumera pit so I called it a day and came back down.
The pa site is not a “wahi tapu,” a sacred locality like part of the foreshore – but when I gained the ridge I felt I shouldn’t be up there.
While it’s winter time I’m posting some walks we did years ago, this is one of them. It was a lovely summers day with a warm wind blowing when we crossed the coast to Muriwai from our place at Snells Beach. It was an easy walk and we were able to see the gannets up close.
There used to be two pa at Otakamiro Point where the gannets now are. There’s a seal colony at Oaia just off shore. The gannets began establishing nesting sites on Oaia, then in 1975 on they moved to Motutara Island, and from there they settled on Otakamiro Point, one of only two mainland nesting sites in NZ.
The white fronted terns occupied Motutara Island. Then came the gannets. The gannet invasion of Motutara Island caused the white fronted terns which formerly nested there to shift down to the small crevasses on the sheer cliffs.
To really top the walk off there was a sea cave on the beach. All in all it was a cracker day.
The earliest known chief associated with the Motutara area was a renowned rangitira or chieftain known as Takamiro. He, like his famous contemporary Tiriwa, lived at a number of places between Motutara and Whatipu, although he generally occupied the headland that dominates Muriwai Regional Park. This landmark, and the pa which was constructed on it, are still referred to as ‘O-Takamiro’ or ‘the dwelling place of Takamiro.’
Both Tiriwa and Takamiro were Turehu leaders credited in tradition with great spiritual power, and with the ability to modify the landscape.
Korekore Panear Muriwai Beach
According to local tradition the area was subsequently settled by the ‘Tini o Maruiwi’ or the people of the Kahuitara canoe who migrated north from the Taranaki coastline. Some of this iwi settled on the coastline between the Manukau and Kaipara harbours where they intermarried with the Turehu people.
Ngati Te Kahupara, a sub tribe of both Te Kawerau a Maki and Ngati Whatua descent, lived at Korekore pa until the 1700s. The pa was abandoned before the coming of the European.
“The largest of the pa on the west coast is at Muriwai and is known as Korekore or Oneonenui and locally as Whare-kura. This pa has been fully described by Firth while Best also makes reference to it in his monograph on the Pa Maori.
This conspicuous headland pa jutting out into the sand dunes about 2½ miles to the north of Motutara was until 1938 one of the best preserved of pa sites. Its covering of pohutukawa and puriri trees has however been since removed and the whole area grassed. To prevent cattle and sheep being trapped, many of an extensive series of subterranean storage chambers have been blocked up, while the huge defensive earthwork 60 feet across and 27 feet deep has been partially infilled to provide tractor access to the western section of the pa.
The carvings on the side of the large storage pit situated on the ridge running south-west from the main pa are still in a good state of preservation, as are house sites and storage pits in this area in general. But much of interest on the main pa site has been obliterated. There was a kumera pit 28 x 21 x 7 foot deep.”
Source: Maori in the Waitakere Ranges, by J.T. Diamond, p 304-314/p1
Pillar, ancient Korekore pa siteA member of the Auckland Tramping Club exiting the mouth of a burial cave at Korekore Pa site with view down onto the dunes, beach and sea in the distance.View of dunes, Korekore Pa site and Muriwai Beach 1905, Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections JTD-01E-01240
The track to Orokawa Bay starts at the northern end of Waihi Beach. Orokawa Bay is a perfect, unspoilt beach overhung by ancient Pohutukawa trees. A side track leads up to the 28m high William Wright Falls (30 minutes return) which we didn’t have time for.
The coastal stretch from Orokawa Bay to Homunga Bay is worth doing but we didn’t have time for that either, it would have been four hours return. The walk there and back to Waihi Beach was about 90 minutes.
There are two old pa sites in the area. Neither pa is named nor is there any signage. The area was devastated by Ngapuhi raids in the Maori Musket Wars. By the time the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840, few Maori remained.
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.
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