Kaweka Forest Park is in the
Hawke's Bay
Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...
region of
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 ...
, adjacent to
Kaimanawa Forest Park
Kaimanawa Forest Park is a protected area south of Lake Taupō and east of Mount Tongariro in the Taupō Volcanic Zone. It is situated in the Rangitikei District and Manawatū-Whanganui Region of New Zealand's North Island.
The park is manage ...
. This region of the central North Island contains large tracts of
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
plantations, some of them also within the park, and as a consequence, invasive
wilding conifer
Wilding conifers, also known as wilding pines, are invasive trees in the high country of New Zealand. Millions of dollars are spent on controlling their spread.
In the South Island they threaten 210,000 hectares of public land administered by t ...
s are present throughout the park.
The highest peak in the park is Kaweka at .
The Mangatutu Hot Springs, in the vicinity of the
Mohaka River
The Mohaka river is on the North Island of New Zealand in the east central region of Hawke’s Bay. Mohaka is a Māori language, Maori word, roughly translated it means “place for dancing”. The iwi (Māori tribes) associated with the Mohaka Ri ...
, are in the park.
History
In the late 1800s European settlers cleared the land for farming. However, the steep terrain and poor soil made it difficult to farm. By 1900 farming had ceased, and the park became a State Forest in the 1960s. During this period it was replanted with exotic pine trees and was turned into a Forest Park in 1972.
See also
*
Kaweka Range
The Kaweka Range (also known as the ''Kaweka Ranges'') of mountains is located in inland Hawke's Bay in the eastern North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui) of New Zealand. It forms part of the mountainous spine of the North Island which extends from Welli ...
*
Forest parks of New Zealand
Conservation park is a type of specially protected status for land held by the Crown in New Zealand for conservation purposes. The status is set up under the Conservation Act 1987 and the parks are administered by the Department of Conservation (D ...
*
Tramping in New Zealand
Tramping, known elsewhere as backpacking, rambling, hill walking or bushwalking, is a popular activity in New Zealand.
Tramping is defined as a recreational activity involving walking over rough country. Trampers often carry a backpack and wet- ...
References
External links
Kaweka Forest Park– Department of Conservation
Hastings District
Forest parks of New Zealand
Protected areas of the Hawke's Bay Region
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