Kahurangi National Park in the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand is the second largest of the thirteen

national parks of New Zealand The national parks of New Zealand are protected natural areas administered by the Department of Conservation (DOC). The first national parks established in the country were all focused on mountain scenery. Since the 1980s the focus has been ...

. It was gazetted in 1996 and covers , ranging to near Golden Bay in the north. Much of what was the North-west Nelson Forest Park formed the basis of the new park. Kahurangi Point, regarded as the boundary between the West Coast and

Tasman Region Tasman District () is a local government district in the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand. It borders the Canterbury Region, West Coast Region, Marlborough Region and Nelson City. It is administered by the Tasman District Council, a ...

s, is located in the park, as is Mount Owen. The main tramping tracks in the park are the

Heaphy Track The Heaphy Track is a popular tramping and mountain biking track in the north west of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located within the Kahurangi National Park and classified as one of New Zealand's ten Great Walks by the Department ...

and the

Wangapeka Track The Wangapeka Track is a tramping track in the north-west of the South Island of New Zealand. It is one of the main tramping tracks in the Kahurangi National Park, a protected area managed by the Department of Conservation. The route travers ...

. The park is administered by the Department of Conservation. Tramping,

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

and

caving Caving – also known as spelunking in the United States and Canada and potholing in the United Kingdom and Ireland – is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology i ...

are popular activities in the park. After being prohibited for several years, mountainbiking was allowed on the Heaphy Track on a trial basis for the winters of 2011, 2012 and 2013. The effect of the cyclists on trampers and the wildlife were to determine whether the trial continued or not. Gordons Pyramid, Kahurangi National Park

Gordons Pyramid, Kahurangi National Park

Endangered

takahē The South Island takahē (''Porphyrio hochstetteri'') is a flightless swamphen indigenous to New Zealand and the largest living member of the rail family. It is often known by the abbreviated name takahē, which it shares with the recently ...

were reintroduced to the park in 2018, which was 100 years after they became extinct there. Eighteen takahē were released in Gouland Downs. The population has since grown to 31. In 2019, it was announced that large parts of the

Mōkihinui River The Mōkihinui River is a river located on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island, about 40 kilometres north of Westport. Meridian Energy had proposed the Mokihinui Hydro project on the river in 2007 but it was cancelled in May 2012. In ...

catchment, including 15 km of riverbed, would be added to Kahurangi National Park. '' Opacuincola gretathunbergae,'' a species of freshwater snail that was discovered in the park, was named after the activist Greta Thunberg.

Conservation initiatives

In addition to ongoing conservation work by the Department of Conservation, there is a community initiative that aims "to implement, in partnership with the Department of Conservation, a conservation strategy to bring about the protection and/or return of endangered and threatened flora and fauna to the Flora Stream catchment area in Kahurangi National Park. This will enhance the experience for all visitors to this popular area, resulting in wider community appreciation and use of the Park." The society now has approximately 30 kilometres of trap lines, with all traps at 100 metre spacing. A wasp eradication programme is in place, and bird monitoring is also part of the society's programme. Dracophyllum_traversii_fragment2

References

External links

Kahurangi National Park
– Department of Conservation information {{Authority control Buller District Protected areas of the West Coast, New Zealand Protected areas of the Tasman District Protected areas established in 1996 Golden Bay

Conservation initiatives

See also

References

External links