Mount Pirongia is an extinct stratovolcano located in the

Waikato Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsul ...

region of New Zealand's North Island. It rises to 959 metres and is the highest peak in the Waikato region. It was active in the late

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58early Pleistocene times. Pirongia's many peaks are basaltic cones created by successive volcanic eruptions about 2.5 million years ago. In the adjacent picture, the characteristic profile of the mountain can be seen, along with a prominent accessory cone to the right (on the northern flank). Mt Pirongia (6727)

History

Maori people have a strong connection to Mount Pirongia. It was first named ("the scented pathway of Kahu") by a of the Tainui canoe, to honour his wife. To preserve the heritage of Mount Pirongia ''Pirongia Te Aroaro o Kahu Restoration Society Inc'' was formed in 2002 as a result of deep-seated community interest in its ecological restoration.

Geography

Mount Pirongia is located 22 kilometres to the west of

Te Awamutu Te Awamutu is a town in the Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the council seat of the Waipa District and serves as a service town for the farming communities which surround it. Te Awamutu is located some south of Hamilt ...

and eight kilometres from the small settlement of

Pirongia Pirongia is a small town in the Waipa District of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is 12 kilometres to the west of Te Awamutu, on the banks of the Waipā River, close to the foot of the 962 metre Mount Pirongia, which lies i ...

, and lies in the Pirongia Forest Park. It is clearly visible from the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea ( Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer ...

, being just 25 kilometres from the coast at

Aotea Harbour Aotea Harbour ( mi, Aotea Moana) is a settlement and smallest of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located between Raglan Harbour to the north and Kawhia Harbour to the ...

Geology

Mount Pirongia is the largest

calc-alkalic The calc-alkaline magma series is one of two main subdivisions of the subalkaline magma series, the other subalkaline magma series being the tholeiitic series. A magma series is a series of compositions that describes the evolution of a mafic mag ...

basaltic Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% of a ...

stratovolcano in the Alexandra Volcanic Group chain which extends inland from Mount Karioi near Raglan. To the west it merges into the highland terrain of the Karioi horst block and in the east it arises above the Hamilton Basin, a major rift-related depression bound by the Waipa Fault Zone. There are at least six edifice-forming members separated by features including those resulting from large volume collapse events. It has a very long eruptive history and apical basalts extending towards the east have recently been dated as recent as 900,000 years old, when previously it was thought to be over 1.6 million years old.

Land use

Mount Pirongia is a popular place for hunters from Hamilton seeking a quick day trip hunt, holding several feral goat herds on its bush-clad slopes. Rumours abound about small numbers of

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of we ...

released by farmers after an earlier deer farming boom went bust. Pirongia Forest Park is administered by the Waikato

DoC DOC, Doc, doc or DoC may refer to: In film and television * ''Doc'' (2001 TV series), a 2001–2004 PAX series * ''Doc'' (1975 TV series), a 1975–1976 CBS sitcom * "D.O.C." (''Lost''), a television episode * ''Doc'' (film), a 1971 Wester ...

office in Hamilton. River on Pirongia

Ecology

Among the variety of plants and wildlife, Wood Rose or Dactylanthus taylorii, a rare and endangered parasitic flowering plant, can be found on the ridges of Mount Pirongia. Variety of podocarps are found at lower altitudes: rimu, totara, tawa and tree ferns. At higher altitudes the forest changes. Hardy plants like horopito and kamahi grow on exposed ridges, and near the summit there are mountain flax, coprosmas and ferns. Common birds are: fantails, kingfishers, tui, kereru, New Zealand falcons. Botanically, Mount Pirongia is also interesting area as it marks the transition between the warmth-loving kauri forest of the north and the beech and podocarp-beech forest in the south. The park's latitude is the naturally occurring southern limit for species such as

kauri ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of 22 species of evergreen tree. The genus is part of the ancient conifer family Araucariaceae, a group once widespread during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, but now largely res ...

and mangeao.

Recreation

There are numerous tracks to the summit. Mahaukura - Tirohanga Circuit (8–11 hours) is a longer distance but with a gradual climb. This track is well signposted with bright orange plastic markers, but considered difficult. It leads through many steep sections but gives excellent views from Wharauroa lookout, Mahaukura peak (899 m) and Tirohanga peak. In winter and after rain the track becomes muddy and slippery. There are many narrow sections with a tangle of tree roots and rocks. There is a lookout platform on Pirongia summit from where it is possible to spot

Mount Taranaki Mount Taranaki (), also known as Mount Egmont, is a dormant stratovolcano in the Taranaki region on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is the second highest point in the North Island, after Mount Ruapehu. The mountain has a seco ...

summit and

Mount Ruapehu Mount Ruapehu (; ) is an active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Taupō Volcanic Zone and North Island volcanic plateau in New Zealand. It is northeast of Ohakune and southwest of the southern shore of Lake Taupō, within the Tongari ...

summit on a clear day (see photo below). On the west side there are

Kawhia Kawhia Harbour (Maori: ''Kāwhia'') is one of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located to the south of Raglan Harbour, Ruapuke and Aotea Harbour, 40 kilometres southw ...

and

Raglan harbour Raglan is a small beachside town located 48 km west of Hamilton, New Zealand on State Highway 23. It is known for its surfing, and volcanic black sand beaches. History The Ngāti Māhanga iwi occupied the area around Raglan in the lat ...

Boardwalk on Bell Track in pahautea grove

Between the Summit and The Cone, at the junction of the Bell and Hihikiwi Tracks, a

hut A hut is a small dwelling, which may be constructed of various local materials. Huts are a type of vernacular architecture because they are built of readily available materials such as wood, snow, ice, stone, grass, palm leaves, branches, hid ...

built in 2015 has 20 bunks. An older hut with 6 bunks is next to it. Most of the tracks near the summit have recently been laid with

boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway built with wooden planks that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or marshy land. They are also in effect a low type of brid ...

s (see photo below), some of them as part of

Te Araroa Te Araroa (The Long Pathway) is New Zealand's long distance tramping route, stretching circa along the length of the country's two main islands from Cape Reinga to Bluff. Officially opened in 2011, it is made up of a mixture of previously mad ...

long distance trail.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pirongia, Mount Mountains of Waikato Mount Pirongia Pliocene stratovolcanoes Extinct volcanoes Mount Pirongia Pleistocene stratovolcanoes