Rangituhi / Colonial Knob () is a large hill or mountain southwest of

Porirua Porirua, ( mi, Pari-ā-Rua) a city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Porirua' is a corruption of 'Pari-rua', meaning "the tide swee ...

city and west of the northern

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

suburb of Tawa. The peak's summit stands at . Kapiti Island and Mana Island can be seen from the peak, and on a clear day the inland

Kaikōura Ranges The Kaikōura Ranges are two parallel ranges of mountains located in the northeast of the South Island of New Zealand. The two ranges are visible from a great distance, including from the southern coast of the North Island. Description Formed ...

to the south and Mount Taranaki to the north may also be seen. Rangituhi / Colonial Knob was formed from part of a 30–40 million year old peneplain, that has since been raised by earthquakes and eroded. The hill is the location of the Rangituhi / Colonial Knob Scenic Reserve administered by the

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

, and Te Rāhui o Rangituhi and Spicer Botanical Park both administered by

Porirua City Council Porirua, ( mi, Pari-ā-Rua) a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area. T ...

. These reserves include a significant amount of the remaining native forest in the Tawa-Porirua Basin. The Rangituhi / Colonial Knob Walkway makes up part of the Te Araroa national walkway. Mana Island from Colonial Knob

Name

Early

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

named the peak Rangituhi, meaning 'sky glow', in reference to the apparent red glow of the hill during sunset.

History

The Rangituhi / Colonial Knob Scenic Reserve contains two abandoned reservoirs which were built in the late 19th century in order to serve the

Porirua Hospital Porirua, ( mi, Pari-ā-Rua) a city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Porirua' is a corruption of 'Pari-rua', meaning "the tide swee ...

. These reservoirs became redundant when the hospital was connected to the main Porirua City water supply.

Proposed adventure park

Rangituhi / Colonial Knob is the proposed location for an adventure park to be called the 'Porirua Adventure Park', with plans going back to 2016. This includes proposals for

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

zip lines Zip, Zips or ZIP may refer to: Common uses * ZIP Code, USPS postal code * Zipper or zip, clothing fastener Science and technology Computing * ZIP (file format), a compressed archive file format ** zip, a command-line program from Info-ZIP * Zi ...

, surf simulators, a gondola and cafes. The park is expected to open in late 2023, with the developer saying the project may be rolled out in phases due to increased construction and logistic costs.

References

{{reflist Porirua Mountains of the Wellington Region