Hinewai Reserve is a private
nature reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
on
Banks Peninsula
Banks Peninsula is a peninsula of volcanic origin on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It has an area of approximately and encompasses two large harbours and many smaller bays and coves. The South Island's largest cit ...
in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
.
Description
Hinewai Reserve started off as a 109 ha block of farmland bought by the Maurice White Native Forest Trust in September 1987 and is now 1230 ha of
gorse
''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are n ...
and regenerating native
bush
Bush commonly refers to:
* Shrub, a small or medium woody plant
Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to:
People
* Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name
**Bush family, a prominent American family that includes:
*** ...
.
The reserve was completely forested in pre-human times but, as with much of Banks Peninsula, the forest cover was severely reduced, especially after European settlement. The transformation from open pasture and gorse to native vegetation has occurred rapidly. The reserve includes 20 walking tracks open to the public, including part of the
Banks Peninsula Track.
The reserve is managed for the Trust by botanist
Hugh Wilson, who hand-writes and illustrates a newsletter about the reserve, ''Pīpipi'', which the Trust publishes several times a year.
One-third of the reserve was burnt on 13 July 2011, possibly due to a lightning strike.
In 2017 the Hinewai newsletter reported that there was hardly anything noticeable left. The gorse regrew and so did
native shrubs and trees
See also
*
Protected areas of New Zealand
Protected areas of New Zealand are areas that are in some way protected to preserve their environmental, scientific, scenic, historical, cultural or recreational value. There are about 10,000 protected areas covering about a third of the country. ...
*
Gorse in New Zealand
Gorse (''Ulex europaeus'') was introduced to New Zealand in the early stages of European settlement. It is now a major invasive plant species with millions of dollars spent on its control.
Introduction to New Zealand
Introduced from Western Euro ...
References
Further reading
*Hugh Wilson, (2002) ''Hinewai: the journal of a New Zealand naturalist''
External links
Hinewai websiteHinewai Reserve
at Google Maps
Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...
''Fools and Dreamers''
documentary
{{coord, 43.823533, S, 173.03074, E, display=title
Banks Peninsula
Protected areas of Canterbury, New Zealand