Kaitoke Regional Park is regional park located at

Kaitoke Kaitoke (sometimes called Pakuratahi), part of Upper Hutt City, is a locality in the southern North Island of New Zealand. It is located at the northern end of the Hutt Valley, 45 kilometres northeast of Wellington City and six kilometres from the ...

, northeast of

Upper Hutt Upper Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand and one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. Geography The Upper Hutt city centre lies approximately 26 km north- ...

, in the

Wellington Region Greater Wellington, also known as the Wellington Region (Māori: ''Te Upoko o te Ika''), is a non-unitary region of New Zealand that occupies the southernmost part of the North Island. The region covers an area of , and has a population of T ...

of New Zealand's southern

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-larges ...

. It is administered by

Wellington Regional Council Wellington Regional Council, branded as Greater Wellington Regional Council, is the regional council overseeing the Wellington Region of New Zealand's lower North Island. It is responsible for public transport under the brand Metlink, environm ...

, alongside the adjacent regional park of

Hutt Water Collection Area Hutt Water Collection Area is a regional park located in Upper Hutt in the Wellington Region at the southern end of New Zealand's North Island. It is administered by Wellington Regional Council and is located alongside the larger Kaitoke Region ...

Geography

The park covers in the

Tararua Ranges The Tararua Range, often referred to as the Tararua Ranges or Tararua, is one of several mountain ranges in the North Island of New Zealand. The Tararua Range runs northeast–southwest for from near Palmerston North to the upper reaches of ...

foothills. The steep hills and Hutt River gorge are covered in native trees. The conifer-broadleaf rainforest at the fork of Pakuratahi River and Te Awa Kairangi / Hutt River typifies the original vegetation of the area. There is centuries-old rātā,

rimu ''Dacrydium cupressinum'', commonly known as rimu, is a large evergreen coniferous tree endemic to the forests of New Zealand. It is a member of the southern conifer group, the podocarps. The Māori name ''rimu'' comes from the Polynesian ...

, hinau and

kamahi ''Weinmannia racemosa'', commonly called kāmahi, is an evergreen small shrub to medium-sized tree of the family Cunoniaceae. It is the most abundant forest tree in New Zealand, occurring in lowland, montane, and subalpine forests and shrubland ...

on the upper slopes,

red beech Red beech is a common name applied to several species of trees: *'' Dillenia alata'', native to Northern Australia and New Guinea *'' Fuscospora fusca'', native to New Zealand *'' Protorhus longifolia'', native to South Africa {{Plant common n ...

on the lower slopes, and black beech on higher spurs and ridge tops with poorer soils. The forests form an ecological corridor between the

Remutaka Ranges The Remutaka Range (spelled Rimutaka Range before 2017) is the southernmost range of a mountain chain in the lower North Island of New Zealand. The chain continues north into the Tararua, then Ruahine Ranges, running parallel with the east c ...

and

, and Pakuratahi and Hutt River catchments. The connected bush provides a habitat for a range of birds and native fish, including

tūī The tūī (''Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae'') is a boisterous medium-sized bird native to New Zealand. It is blue, green, and bronze colored with a distinctive white throat tuft. It is an endemic passerine bird of New Zealand, and the only spe ...

kererū The kererū (''Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae'') or New Zealand pigeon is a species of pigeon native to New Zealand. Johann Friedrich Gmelin described the bird in 1789 as a large, conspicuous pigeon up to in length and in weight, with a white br ...

piwakawaka The New Zealand fantail (''Rhipidura fuliginosa'') is a small insectivorous bird, the only species of fantail in New Zealand. It has four subspecies: ''R. f. fuliginosa'' in the South Island, ''R. f. placabilis'' in the North Island, ''R. f. ...

(fantails),

korimako The New Zealand bellbird (''Anthornis melanura''), also known by its Māori names korimako, makomako, and kōmako, is a passerine bird endemic to New Zealand. It has greenish colouration and is the only living member of the genus ''Anthornis''. T ...

(bellbirds) or miromiro (tomtits).

History

Pre-establishment

Before European settlement, local Māori had established several routes between Wairarapa and Wellington through the Kaikohe area. Whakataka Pā is believed to have established at Te Mārua before 1820. A European road was opened in 1856. Many of the forests were cleared by early European settlers to provide timber, farm supplies, water and transport routes. Some areas of untouched forest were purchased by local authorities in 1939 for water supplies. Further adjacent land was purchased after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, on 20 November 1951, to form Hutt Water Collection Area. Following the war, the area became a site for picnicking and swimming. In 1976 the Wellington Regional Planning Authority identified the area as a potential regional park because of its native forests and recreational options.

Post-establishment

The park officially opened in 1983. The Wellington Botanical Society and local Upper Hutt branch of

Forest and Bird Forest & Bird ( mi, Te Reo o te Taiao), also known by its formal name as the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand, is an environmental organisation specialising in the protection and conservation of New Zealand's indigenous f ...

have been involved in protecting and restoring the park. The park was the filming location for exterior shots of

Rivendell Rivendell ('' sjn, Imladris'') is a valley in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, representing both a homely place of sanctuary and a magical Elvish otherworld. It is an important location in '' The Hobbit'' and '' The Lord of ...

for the 2001 movie The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Two people were injured in a plane crash in the regional park in 2016, and one person died in another plane crash in 2020. Toxic algae has remained an ongoing issue in the regional park, with outbreaks in November 2017 and February 2019. In August 2021, a wheelchair-accessible suspension bridge was opened across Te Awa Kairangi / Hutt River. During the same month, major restoration work began to make the park a

carbon sink A carbon sink is anything, natural or otherwise, that accumulates and stores some carbon-containing chemical compound for an indefinite period and thereby removes carbon dioxide () from the atmosphere. Globally, the two most important carbon si ...

for the

Recreation

The park consists mostly native bush, but there are also walking tracks and swimming holes. The most popular loop walk in the park leads through the valley of the upper Te Awa Kairangi / Hutt River. The suspension bridge and some forest tracks are wheelchair accessible. There are several sites for camping, with drinking water, toilet, power outlet and electric barbecue facilities. Campfires are permitted, but not near riverbeds or tent sites. As a filming location for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the park also has sightseeing spots and guided tours for Tolkien tourists. The park opened from 6am to 6pm between April and September, and from 6am to 9pm between October and March. Dogs are permitted, but fireworks are not.

References

External links

Greater Wellington Regional Council
{{Tolkien tourism Upper Hutt Regional parks of New Zealand Parks in the Wellington Region Hutt Valley