Mount Te Kinga ( mi, Tekimoka) is a mountain on the West Coast of New Zealand's

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

within the western foothills of the

Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The name "Southern ...

. The mountain is on the south-eastern shore of

Lake Brunner Lake Brunner ( mi, Kōtuku Moana or ) is the largest lake in the West Coast Region of New Zealand, located southeast of Greymouth. The main settlement, Moana, New Zealand, Moana, is on its northern shore. It is an important settlement and ways ...

and is not a part of a larger mountain range, being separated from the Hohonu Range to the west by the Orangipuku River and from the Alexander Range to the southeast by the Poerua River. Numerous small creeks flow from Te Kinga, all of which end up eventually flowing into the nearby Lake Brunner. Despite being surrounded by former wetlands which have been converted into

dairy farms A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

, Te Kinga has been largely untouched. Almost the entire mountain is covered by native forest, with the lower reaches containing large old-growth podocarp trees, including

tōtara ''Podocarpus totara'' (; from the Maori-language ; the spelling "totara" is also common in English) is a species of podocarp tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island and northeastern South Island in lowland, montane and ...

, rimu, kahikatea and miro. As the altitude increases the vegetation gradually shifts, including larger amounts of species such as kaikawaka,

neinei ''Dracophyllum'' is a genus of plants belonging to the family Ericaceae, formerly Epacridaceae. There are 61 species in the genus, mostly shrubs, but also cushion plants and trees, found in New Zealand, Australia, Lord Howe Island and New Caled ...

and

southern rata ''Metrosideros umbellata'', the southern rātā, is a tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows up to or more tall with a trunk up to or more in diameter. It produces masses of red flowers in summer. Unlike its relative, northern rātā, this spec ...

. From an altitude of about , the vegetation thins out and gradually shifts to

pink pine ''Halocarpus biformis'', known commonly as yellow pine or pink pine, is a coniferous tree endemic to New Zealand. The tree can attain heights of 10 m (33 ft), but is usually a low-spreading bush in open areas. It is found at higher elevations in ...

, followed by the scree slopes and tussock cover typical of alpine environments in New Zealand. The summit can be accessed via an eight-hour tramp from Cashmere Bay of Lake Brunner, along the mountain's northern ridge. This track increases in difficulty along its length, with the first portion to a lookout graded as an easy tramp. Beyond this point, the track to the summit of Te Kinga is much more difficult, recommended for expert trampers only. The risk which the mountain can pose became apparent in 2014, when a search and rescue operation was launched after two day walkers became lost on their return journey from the summit. Te Kinga's mostly preserved forests make it home for a range of native bird life. This in turn has resulted in the mountain being a popular candidate for pest control. In 2020, $15.7 million in funding was announced to remove pests, primarily

possums Possum may refer to: Animals * Phalangeriformes, or possums, any of a number of arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi ** Common brushtail possum (''Trichosurus vulpecula''), a common possum in Australian urban a ...

, from the mountain as part of the

Predator Free 2050 Predator Free 2050 is a plan put forth by the New Zealand government with the goal of eradicating all of its mammalian introduced predators by 2050.Compare: Opposition to planned procedures associated with poisoning feral cats arose in Se ...

project. At the time, it was announced that this would be done using a mix of

1080 Year 1080 (Roman numerals, MLXXX) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Autumn – Nikephoros Melissenos, a Byzantine general and ar ...

poison, trapping and monitoring to maintain a natural barrier and prevent pest species from reintroduction.

References

{{Commons category, Mount Te Kinga Grey District Mountains of the West Coast, New Zealand Southern Alps