Pureora Forest Park
Encyclopedia
Pureora Forest Park is a 78000 hectares (192,742 acre) protected area
in the North Island
of New Zealand
. Within its rich rain forest are an abundance of 1000 year old podocarp
trees. It is “recognized as one of the finest rain forests in the world”. Established in 1978, after a series of protests and tree sitting
s, the park is one of the largest intact tracts of native forest in the North Island and has high conservation value due to the variety of plant life and animal habitats available. New Zealand's largest totara
tree is located nearby on private land.
was formed which ensured that the park develops several areas into its present format. One of the pine forest areas that was restored with native species of trees, with great efforts of Guildford, was named in her memory in 1988 a year after her death as the "Shirley Guildford Grove".
and Te Kuiti
. It is accessible from State Highway 45, which lies to the west of Lake Taupo. Peaks include Mount Pureora (1165 metres (3,822.2 ft)), the rock peak of Mount Titiraupenga (1042 metres (3,418.6 ft)), and Mount Pukeokahu (844 metres (2,769 ft)). They are popular among the bike trekkers and also the mountain hikers who use the mountain routes through the park to reach the peaks.
Within the park are Waihora Lagoon and Waihora Stream. The Okahukura Stream is east of Okahukura Road. The Waipa Mires can be seen from Select Loop Road. There are several valleys within the park. These include the Mangakahu Valley, as well as the Tunawaea Valley southeast of Otorohanga. The Maramataha Valley is located in the southwestern part of the park and the nearby Maramataha River is impassable in high water.
A buried, subfossil
forest that had been submerged under pumice
after the eruption of Taupo crater (c. AD 186) was discovered in 1983. The way the trees fell following the eruption is still evident, with the large tree trunks lying in rows.
and tree fern
s, as well as tall native trees, including kahikatea
, matai
, miro
, rimu
, and totara. The Pouakani Totara tree, New Zealand's tallest totara, is located east of the Field Centre. The giant totara, rimu, matai, miro and kahikatea trees tower 40–60 metres, and belong to an ancient family of trees dating from the dinosaur era. Higher altitudes include kamahi
and Hall's totara; sub-alpine herbs are abundant near the peaks. Grasses within the park include toetoe
. The Pouakani Totara Tree is the largest recorded totara tree in New Zealand and is located just outside of the park in the Wairapara Moana Incorporation reserve, located on the SH30 road.
The feral house mouse has a significant population within the park. There is rich native bird life in this forest including the rare kōkako
and the kaka, kākāriki
, kuku (kereru, a native pigeon), and North Island Robin
. Sika Deer
have been shot or sighted within the confines of the park, believed to be an illegal liberation. Pigs are present, and of the at least eleven pest species that co-exist within the park, possum
s and goats are subject to management operations.
The park has more than 15 walking trails. The best track to explore the ecological richness of the park is the Totaara walk from the visitor centre. An impressive site in the park is the Waihora Lagoon; a walk from here leads to a forest thicket of tall and impressive rimu and kahikatea trees. Other notable tracks in the park include the Waipapa Loop which girdles the Walipapa Ecological area and the forest lodge; the Bog Inn Track which encircles a wetland with enroute views of dense kamahi broadleaf forests; and a track from the Western Lake Toupo Road where Wlahaha Hut, a stunning rocky gorge and bird area, can be experienced.
There are numerous areas within the park that are of interest to tourists and scientists alike. The Forest Tower is a 12 metre tall tower located about 10 minutes by foot from Bismarck Road car park. Popular with ornithologists, birds such as kuku, kakariki and kaka are evident in the area. The 1978 Treetop Protest Site is still accessible today and includes platforms high in the trees. A 1940s steam hauler, used to transport logs through the forest for milling and a 2-tonne Caterpillar tractor is still present in the reserve; it was used in the 1950s to destroy many totara for posts.
Protected area
Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...
in the North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. Within its rich rain forest are an abundance of 1000 year old podocarp
Podocarpaceae
Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere conifers, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs. It contains 19 genera if Phyllocladus is included and if Manoao and Sundacarpus are recognized....
trees. It is “recognized as one of the finest rain forests in the world”. Established in 1978, after a series of protests and tree sitting
Tree sitting
Tree sitting is a form of environmentalist civil disobedience in which a protester sits in a tree, usually on a small platform built for the purpose, to protect it from being cut down...
s, the park is one of the largest intact tracts of native forest in the North Island and has high conservation value due to the variety of plant life and animal habitats available. New Zealand's largest totara
Podocarpus totara
Podocarpus totara is a species of podocarp tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island and northeastern South Island in lowland, montane and lower subalpine forest at elevations of up to 600 m.-Description:...
tree is located nearby on private land.
History
Anti-logging protests were led by conservation activists Stephen King, Shirley Guildford and others in the late 1970s in what is now Pureora Forest Park. They held a novel way of erecting platforms on treetops, sitting over it to protest logging operations in the forests. The result of their efforts was tri-fold: the park was established in 1978; the Government of New Zealand changed rules to meet the protesters' demand to permanently stop logging operations; and the Native Forest Restoration TrustNative Forest Restoration Trust
Founded in 1980, the New Zealand Native Forests Restoration Trust is an organisation involved in forest restoration.Since then, the Trust has acquired land at the rate of 250 ha per year to protect important species, restore their habitats and to improve the quality of waterways...
was formed which ensured that the park develops several areas into its present format. One of the pine forest areas that was restored with native species of trees, with great efforts of Guildford, was named in her memory in 1988 a year after her death as the "Shirley Guildford Grove".
Geography
Bounded by the Rangitoto and Hauhungaroa Ranges, Pureora Forest Park is situated between Lake TaupoLake Taupo
Lake Taupo is a lake situated in the North Island of New Zealand. With a surface area of , it is the largest lake by surface area in New Zealand, and the second largest freshwater lake by surface area in geopolitical Oceania after Lake Murray ....
and Te Kuiti
Te Kuiti
Te Kuiti is a small town in the south of the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It lies at the junction of State Highways 3 and 30 and on the North Island Main Trunk Railway, 80 km south of Hamilton....
. It is accessible from State Highway 45, which lies to the west of Lake Taupo. Peaks include Mount Pureora (1165 metres (3,822.2 ft)), the rock peak of Mount Titiraupenga (1042 metres (3,418.6 ft)), and Mount Pukeokahu (844 metres (2,769 ft)). They are popular among the bike trekkers and also the mountain hikers who use the mountain routes through the park to reach the peaks.
Within the park are Waihora Lagoon and Waihora Stream. The Okahukura Stream is east of Okahukura Road. The Waipa Mires can be seen from Select Loop Road. There are several valleys within the park. These include the Mangakahu Valley, as well as the Tunawaea Valley southeast of Otorohanga. The Maramataha Valley is located in the southwestern part of the park and the nearby Maramataha River is impassable in high water.
Subfossil
Subfossil refers to remains whose fossilization process is not complete, either for lack of time or because the conditions in which they were buried were not optimal for fossilization....
forest that had been submerged under pumice
Pumice
Pumice is a textural term for a volcanic rock that is a solidified frothy lava typically created when super-heated, highly pressurized rock is violently ejected from a volcano. It can be formed when lava and water are mixed. This unusual formation is due to the simultaneous actions of rapid...
after the eruption of Taupo crater (c. AD 186) was discovered in 1983. The way the trees fell following the eruption is still evident, with the large tree trunks lying in rows.
Fauna and flora
Lower altitudes are characterized by tawaTawa (tree)
The Tawa tree is a New Zealand broadleaf tree common in the central parts of the country. Tawa is often the dominant canopy species in lowland forests in the North Island and the north east of the South Island, but will also often form the subcanopy in primary forests throughout the country in...
and tree fern
Cyatheales
The order Cyatheales is a taxonomic division of the fern subclass, Cyatheatae, which includes the tree ferns. No clear morphological features characterize all of the Cyatheales, but DNA sequence data indicates that the order is monophyletic. Some species in the Cyatheales have tree-like growth...
s, as well as tall native trees, including kahikatea
Dacrycarpus dacrydioides
Dacrycarpus dacrydioides or kahikatea is a coniferous tree endemic to New Zealand.The tree grows to a height of with a trunk exceeding in diameter, and is buttressed at the base. It is dominant in lowland forest and wetlands throughout the North and South Islands...
, matai
Prumnopitys taxifolia
Prumnopitys taxifolia is an endemic New Zealand coniferous tree that grows on the North Island and South Island. It also occurs on Stewart Island/Rakiura but is uncommon there....
, miro
Prumnopitys ferruginea
Prumnopitys ferruginea is an evergreen coniferous tree which is endemic to New Zealand. Before the genus Prumnopitys was distinguished, it was treated in the related genus Podocarpus as Podocarpus ferrugineus....
, rimu
Dacrydium cupressinum
Dacrydium cupressinum, commonly known as rimu, is a large evergreen coniferous tree endemic to the forests of New Zealand. It is a member of the southern conifer group, the podocarps. The former name "red pine" has fallen out of common use....
, and totara. The Pouakani Totara tree, New Zealand's tallest totara, is located east of the Field Centre. The giant totara, rimu, matai, miro and kahikatea trees tower 40–60 metres, and belong to an ancient family of trees dating from the dinosaur era. Higher altitudes include kamahi
Weinmannia racemosa
Weinmannia racemosa, Kāmahi, a medium-sized tree of the family Cunoniaceae, is a very common tree in New Zealand, occurring in lowland, montane, and subalpine forests and shrubland from the central North Island south to Stewart Island....
and Hall's totara; sub-alpine herbs are abundant near the peaks. Grasses within the park include toetoe
Toetoe
Toetoe are four species of tall grasses native to New Zealand and members of the Cortaderia genus. The species are C. toetoe, C. fulvida, C. splendens and C. richardii. The name toetoe comes from the Māori language.Two closely related South America species of Cortaderia, C. jubata and C...
. The Pouakani Totara Tree is the largest recorded totara tree in New Zealand and is located just outside of the park in the Wairapara Moana Incorporation reserve, located on the SH30 road.
The feral house mouse has a significant population within the park. There is rich native bird life in this forest including the rare kōkako
Kokako
The Kōkako is a forest bird which is endemic to New Zealand. It is slate-grey with wattles and a black mask. It is one of three species of New Zealand Wattlebird, the other two being the endangered Tieke and the extinct Huia...
and the kaka, kākāriki
Kakariki
The three species of Kākāriki or New Zealand parakeets are the most common species of parakeet in the genus Cyanoramphus, family Psittacidae. The birds' Māori name, which is the most commonly used, means "small parrot"....
, kuku (kereru, a native pigeon), and North Island Robin
North Island Robin
The North Island Robin is a species of Australasian robin endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. It was once considered a subspecies of the New Zealand Robin of South and Stewart Islands, but mitochondrial DNA sequences have shown that the two lineages split prior to the Pleistocene and...
. Sika Deer
Sika Deer
The Sika Deer, Cervus nippon, also known as the Spotted Deer or the Japanese Deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia and introduced to various other parts of the world...
have been shot or sighted within the confines of the park, believed to be an illegal liberation. Pigs are present, and of the at least eleven pest species that co-exist within the park, possum
Possum
A possum is any of about 70 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi .Possums are quadrupedal diprotodont marsupials with long tails...
s and goats are subject to management operations.
Tourism
Camping, picnicking, swimming, and mountain biking are popular within the park. The Pureora Forest Park Hunting Competition has brought hunters to the area since 1987. There are also numerous walking trails and several sites of interest.The park has more than 15 walking trails. The best track to explore the ecological richness of the park is the Totaara walk from the visitor centre. An impressive site in the park is the Waihora Lagoon; a walk from here leads to a forest thicket of tall and impressive rimu and kahikatea trees. Other notable tracks in the park include the Waipapa Loop which girdles the Walipapa Ecological area and the forest lodge; the Bog Inn Track which encircles a wetland with enroute views of dense kamahi broadleaf forests; and a track from the Western Lake Toupo Road where Wlahaha Hut, a stunning rocky gorge and bird area, can be experienced.
There are numerous areas within the park that are of interest to tourists and scientists alike. The Forest Tower is a 12 metre tall tower located about 10 minutes by foot from Bismarck Road car park. Popular with ornithologists, birds such as kuku, kakariki and kaka are evident in the area. The 1978 Treetop Protest Site is still accessible today and includes platforms high in the trees. A 1940s steam hauler, used to transport logs through the forest for milling and a 2-tonne Caterpillar tractor is still present in the reserve; it was used in the 1950s to destroy many totara for posts.
See also
- Forest parks of New ZealandForest parks of New ZealandThe Forest Parks of New Zealand are on public land administered by the Department of Conservation.Forest parks have a less stringent level of protection than National Parks and they are used for a wide variety of recreational and commercial activities....
- Conservation in New ZealandConservation in New ZealandConservation in New Zealand has a history associated with both Māori and Europeans. Both groups of people caused a loss of species and both amended their behaviour after realising their effect on indigenous flora and fauna.-Protected areas:...
- Tramping in New ZealandTramping in New ZealandTramping, known elsewhere as hiking or bushwalking, is a popular activity in New Zealand.Tramping is defined as a recreational activity involving walking over rough country carrying all the required food and equipment...
External links
- Department of Conservation – Pureora Forest Park
- New Zealand Tramper – Pureora Forest Park
- World Database on Protected Areas – The Pureora Forest Park Conservation Park datasheet