Walk #179, 19th November 2025
This walk is through an impressive limestone gorge that passes underneath a 17 m high natural arch. There are two arches, one on top of the other.
There are supposed to be giant oyster shell fossils beyond the bridges but we couldn’t find them.
The walk is on the scenic Te Henga road, and further up the road going west is Piripiri Cave and Marokopa Falls.
Walk: Waikato / King Country 29
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Walk #178, 19th November 2025
This beautiful 35 m high waterfall is on the Te Anga Road in the Waitomo region. Also on the same scenic road, going toward Waitomo, is the Piripiri cave and the Mangapohe Natural Bridge.
Walk: Waikato / King Country 30
Links
Walk #177, 18th November 2025
This was an unusual walk, we made our way over a big sand dune to a hot water beach near Kawhia, which also goes by the name of ‘Te Puia,’ meaning ‘hot springs’.
The hot spots are directly out from the main track down the dune. As you can see this hot water beach is less crowded than the more popular and well-known beach at Hahei, Coromandel.
You have to go two hours either side of low tide. The hot water is found by digging into the sand with your toes. We found a warm spot and my husband Bert dug a hole for us to soak in with his father’s US army issue spade. As he dug I could smell the sulphur. The hole that I’d already claimed had water that was a bit hotter.
Unfortunately it started to rain, but we were already wet anyway and the wind wasn’t cold.
I recommend the walk for its sheer novelty value.
Walk: Waikato 7
Walk #176, 17th November 2025
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.
Walk: 26 Waikato and King Country
Walk #175, 17th November 2025
Mangaokewa means “the stones of Kewa.” This walk is about 3kms from the town of Te Kuiti. It follows the Mangaokewa River.
There’s a small waterfall about 20 minutes along the track. Beyond that is an old road going in the direction of Te Kuiti. The area has a ghost townish feel which I remarked about on the video. I later learned it was the original site of Te Kuiti before the town moved north.
Walk: King Country Walk 31
Links
Papers Past: Old Te Kuiti (By J.W.E)
Te Kooti
Te Kooti was invited to Te Kūiti, the residence of the Māori King – but only if he came in peace. He responded defiantly that he was coming to ‘assume himself the supreme authority which he coming direct from God was entitled to’. Accompanied by Horonuku and Ngāti Tūwharetoa, and his core group of around 60 whakarau, Te Kooti arrived at Te Kūiti on 10 July 1869. Rewi Maniapoto greeted Te Kooti as a kinsman (they were related through Te Kooti’s father) and Te Kooti, for his part, appeared more conciliatory. He had come not to depose Tāwhiao but ‘to rouse up the Waikato to take up arms’. A feast had been prepared, but at this point Te Kooti declared that ‘he should consider himself the host (tangata whenua) and that the Waikato were his visitors’. His men loaded their weapons and fired over the heads of the bewildered Ngāti Maniapoto.
From 1873 to 1883 Te Kooti lived at Te Kūiti. Here he evolved the rituals of his church. In 1883 Te Kooti was formally pardoned, at Rewi Maniapoto’s insistence. Te Kooti left Te Kūiti and in April moved to Ōtewā, where he founded his religious community.
Walk #171, 10th September 2025
Jubilee Park, known locally as Claudelands Bush, is a tiny bush remnant of what was a 200-hectare forest, dominated by Kahikatea, Rimu and Matai. Development has seen the forest shrink over the years to its current size, with some of the remaining trees part of the original forest.
The park is also home to the endangered long tailed bat, the pekapeka, one of New Zealand’s only mammals.
Walk: Hamilton 17
Links
Long tailed bats: Andrew Styche, from the Department of Conservation (DOC), thinks bats have mostly survived in Hamilton thanks to tiny islands of remnant bush within the city limits.
“There’s not much original vegetation left around here so it is amazing they’ve survived,” Andrew says.
Urban bats: Long-tailed bats thriving in Hamilton
History
From the signboard, the land was originally a renowned native bird forest hunting area. The first inhabitants of the area were the Mokohape, a sub-tribe of an extensive tribal group known as Nga Iwi (the people). They were replaced by Tainui people from Mokau and Kawhia.
In the 1800s battles were fought against Te Rauparaha from the west, Ngapuhe from the north and then the British in the Waikato land wars of the 1860s.
With European settlement, Francis Claude subdivided the land in 1870 and the suburb became known as Claudelands.
The Mokohape
Mokohape refers to a figure depicted on carved pou (posts) outside a casino in Hamilton, New Zealand, which represents a tribe of the Nga Iwi people who once lived on the Waikato River before being conquered by Ngaati Wairere. The pou feature a carved face and a lizard, symbolizing the Mokohape people’s struggle for survival and eventual displacement, an event captured by the proverb, “People may disappear but the land remains.” Source: Google AI
Walk #169, 23rd May 2025
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.
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.
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.
Walk: Waikato 10
Links
Sanctuary Mountain, Maungatautiri
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“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.
Last year, SMM wrote history when it became home to a kākāpō population. It was the first time, kākāpō had been living on the mainland in 40 years.” Source: Waikato Herald, Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari on the brink of closure due to financial struggle
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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.
Related walks:
Walk #144, 25th January 2025
This is a walk along the banks of the Waihou river in the delightful town of Te Aroha. The tree planting in the reserve is a bit chaotic with kahikatea, oaks, willows and other trees all scrambled in together but it’s a pleasant place. It was green and shady, all that is wanted on a hot summer’s day.
Don’t leave without going to the town domain.
Walk: Waikato 4
Te Aroha, Jan 2006
Te Aroha is an Edwardian spa town. The domain where the hot springs are was decked out in the fashion of the European Spas in the 1880’s, and it hasn’t changed. It is a unique place, the only complete Edwardian Domain in New Zealand, and the site of the Mokena Geyser, a geyser of hot soda water … the only one of its kind in the world.
The geyser comes up from a depth of 70 meters and plays every 40 minutes. It was named after the Maori chief, Mokena Te Hau, an early Christian convert who gifted the land to the town. His memorial Cairn is next to the No.8 Drinking Fountain, where you can drink the soda water for free.
The water is nice to drink, naturally carbonated without the sugar or preservatives. Coke’s not the real thing, THIS is the real thing. The pools are nice too.
The word ‘Spa’ is an acronym for Salus per Aquam or healing through waters.
In order for this unique fountain to be found at the Spa, it needed two things – a gift to the people from a chief, and for the people who discovered the healing power of the water to have enough faith in it to dig a bore 70 meters down to find the well.
The geyser plays every 30 minutes. These are photos from a visit in 2006. This is our third visit to the area.
Related post: Salus per Aquam, Healing through waters
The meaning of the Te Aroha mountain peaks
The mountain has two names, one for each of its two peaks, ‘Te Aroha-ki uta’, and ‘Te
Aroha-a tai’, respectively meaning ‘love for the land’ and ‘love for the sea’. The names
originated in Hawaiki, the memory of which is fostered by Tainui, Arawa, and Mataatua
waka which all incorporate Te Aroha as part of their respective traditions.
Chief Mokena Te Hau, benefactor and peacemaker was of the Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu tribe.
The original inhabitants of the Aroha lands are believed to be the Tino-o-Toi. Various
tribes subsequently settled the area. According to Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu tradition, Te
Aroha is a dwelling place of the ‘patupaiarehe’ or ‘fairy people’. The mountain is
important in many stories, karakia (prayers), and waiata (songs).
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 #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
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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
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