Pureora Forest Park is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

in the

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 ...

of New Zealand. Within its rich rainforest are an abundance of 1,000-year-old podocarp trees. It is "recognised as one of the finest rain forests in the world". Established in 1978, after a series of protests and tree sittings, the park is one of the largest intact tracts of native forest in the North Island and has high conservation value due to the variety of plant life and animal habitats. New Zealand's largest

totara ''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 ...

tree is located nearby on private land.

History

Anti-logging protests were led by conservation activists

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

, Shirley Guildford, and others in the late 1970s in what is now Pureora Forest Park. They had a novel way of erecting platforms on treetops, sitting over it to protest logging operations in the forests. The result of their efforts was tri-fold: the park was established in 1978; the

Government of New Zealand , background_color = #012169 , image = New Zealand Government wordmark.svg , image_size=250px , date_established = , country = New Zealand , leader_title = Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern , appointed = Governor-General , main_organ = , ...

changed rules to meet the protesters' demand to permanently stop logging operations; and the Native Forest Restoration Trust was formed which ensured that the park develops several areas into its present format. One of the pine forest areas that was restored with native species of trees, with great efforts of Guildford, was named in her memory in 1988 a year after her death as the "Shirley Guildford Grove".

Geography

Bounded by the Rangitoto and Hauhungaroa Ranges, Pureora Forest Park is situated between Lake Taupo and Te Kuiti, mostly in

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 but some of the park to the south is in the

Manawatū-Whanganui Manawatū-Whanganui (; spelled Manawatu-Wanganui prior to 2019) is a region in the lower half of the North Island of New Zealand, whose main population centres are the cities of Palmerston North and Whanganui. It is administered by the Manawa ...

region. It is accessible from State Highway 32, which lies to the west of Lake Taupo. Peaks include Mount Pureora (), and

Mount Titiraupenga Titiraupenga (also known as Mount Titiraupenga) is an extinct high basaltic andesite stratovolcano on whose southern slopes is located the geographical centre of the North Island of New Zealand. It is in the Pureora Forest Park between Lake Ta ...

(). To the north west is a peak called Pukeokahu () that should not be confused with a mountain of the same name much further south in the Rangitikei District of

region. They are popular among the bike trekkers and also the mountain hikers who use the mountain routes through the park to reach the peaks. Within the park are Waihora Lagoon and Waihora Stream. The Okahukura Stream is east of Okahukura Road. The Waipa Mires can be seen from Select Loop Road. There are several valleys within the park. These include the Mangakahu Valley, as well as the Tunawaea Valley southeast of Otorohanga. The Maramataha Valley is located in the southwestern part of the park and the nearby Maramataha River is impassable in high water. Tanekaha Kahuroa

A buried,

subfossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

forest that had been submerged under

pumice Pumice (), called pumicite in its powdered or dust form, is a volcanic rock that consists of highly vesicular rough-textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored. Scoria is another vesicular v ...

after the eruption of Taupo crater (c. AD 186) was discovered in 1983. The way the trees fell following the eruption is still evident, with the large tree trunks lying in rows.

Fauna and flora

Lower altitudes are characterised by tawa and tree ferns, as well as tall native trees, including kahikatea, matai, miro,

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 ...

, and

. The Pouakani Totara tree, New Zealand's tallest totara, is located east of the Field Centre. The giant totara, rimu, matai, miro and kahikatea trees tower 40–60 metres, and belong to an ancient family of trees dating from the dinosaur era. Higher altitudes include

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 ...

and Hall's totara; sub-alpine herbs are abundant near the peaks. Grasses within the park include

toetoe ''Austroderia'' is a genus of five species of tall grasses native to New Zealand, commonly known as toetoe.

. The Pouakani Totara Tree is the largest recorded totara tree in New Zealand and is located just outside the park in the Wairapara Moana Incorporation reserve, located on the SH30 road. Allocinopus sculpticollis male

The invasive

house mouse The house mouse (''Mus musculus'') is a small mammal of the order Rodentia, characteristically having a pointed snout, large rounded ears, and a long and almost hairless tail. It is one of the most abundant species of the genus ''Mus''. Although ...

has a significant population within the park. There is rich native bird life in the forest including the rare

North Island kōkako The North Island kōkako (''Callaeas wilsoni'') is an endangered forest bird which is endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. It is grey in colour, with a small black mask. It has blue wattles (although this colour develops with age: in the ...

and the kākā, kākāriki, kūkū ( kererū, a native

pigeon Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

), and

North Island robin The North Island robin (''Petroica longipes'') is a species of Australasian robin endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. It is also known in Māori as the Toutouwai. It and the South Island robin (''P. australis'') of the South Island and ...

Sika deer The sika deer (''Cervus nippon''), also known as the Northern spotted deer or the Japanese deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia and introduced to other parts of the world. Previously found from northern Vietnam in the south to ...

have been shot or sighted within the confines of the park, believed to be an illegal liberation. Pigs are present, and of the at least eleven pest species that co-exist within the park,

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 ...

and goats are subject to management operations.

Tourism

Camping, picnicking, swimming, and mountain biking (e.g. the

Timber Trail The Timber Trail, originally known as the Central North Island Rail Trail or Pureora Timber Trail, in the North Island of New Zealand is an cycleway (also used by walkers and hunters) in Pureora Forest Park, fully opened in 2013, with 35 bridges ...

opened in 2013) are popular within the park's confines. And the Pureora Forest Park Hunting Competition has brought hunters to the area since 1987. There are many areas in the park that are interesting to both tourists and scientists. The Forest Tower is a 12-metre-tall tower located about ten minutes by foot from the Bismarck Road car park. Popular with ornithologists, birds such as kuku, kakariki, and kaka are evident in the area. The 1978 Treetop Protest Site is still accessible today and includes platforms high in the trees. A 1940s steam hauler, used to transport logs through the forest for milling, and a 2-tonne Caterpillar tractor are still present in the reserve; the latter was used in the 1950s to harvest many totara for posts.

References

External links