The Kaimai Range (sometimes referred to as the ''Kaimai Ranges'') is a mountain range 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-largest ...

of New Zealand. It is part of a series of ranges, with the

Coromandel Range A true-colour image showing Auckland city (left), the Hauraki Gulf (centre) and the Coromandel Peninsula (right). The scene was acquired by NASA's Terra satellite, on October 23, 2002. The Coromandel Range is a mountain range running the length ...

to the north and the

Mamaku Ranges The Mamaku Ranges are a mountain range in the North Island of New Zealand. Located to the west of Lake Rotorua and north of Lake Taupō, they lie to the immediate south of the Kaimai Range and can be thought of as an extension of it, in much the s ...

to the south. The Kaimai Range separates the

Waikato Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, 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, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...

in the west from the

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runawa ...

in the east. The highest point of the range is Mount Te Aroha (952 m), at the foot of which is the town of

Te Aroha Te Aroha ( mi, Te Aroha-a-uta) is a rural town in the Waikato region of New Zealand with a population of 3,906 people in the 2013 census, an increase of 138 people since 2006. It is northeast of Hamilton and south of Thames. It sits at the f ...

. The range's terrain is rough, and only two roads pass over it: State Highway 2, across the northern end of the range through

Karangahake Gorge The Karangahake Gorge lies between the Coromandel and Kaimai ranges, at the southern end of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand's North Island. A sharply winding canyon, it was formed by the Ohinemuri River. State Highway 2 passes throug ...

, and State Highway 29 from

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

. Mt Te Aroha can be described as the northern head peak of the Kaimai Range. The New Zealand

Ministry for Culture and Heritage The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; ) is the department of the New Zealand Government responsible for supporting the arts, culture, built heritage, sport and recreation, and broadcasting sectors in New Zealand and advising government on ...

gives a translation of "eat fermented food" for ''Kaimāī''. The Kaimai Ranges feature in local Maori folklore. The name Te Aroha translates from Maori as Te - The & Aroha - Love. Literally "the love". The name comes from a Maori legend that the sun god - male - loved the moon goddess - female. They never could see each another due to the planets positions. One day the moon goddess came to earth to see the sun god, knowing the risks, was turned to stone as the daylight came. Hers was the ultimate expression of love. Te Aroha in Maori. This is why on the Kaimai Range, to the right of Mt Te Aroha is a high skyline silhouetted rock that from afar is shaped as a woman. It is known locally as the rock of Hinemoa. Within the Kaimai Ranges the Hendersons Tramline loop track follows the route of bush tramlines and haul lines once used to extract logs from the bush. The walk includes forest and clearings near the fringe of the park. A side track off the main walk leads down to the base of a waterfall and a large swimming hole. Also some 10-16km, on the Gordon backroad from te Aroha is a four-wheel drive track named Thomsons track, that takes venturers from the foothills around manawaru to the ranges top, where a large swimming hole is present.

Geology and history

The Kaimai Range is the result of a fault that uplifted primarily

andesitic Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomina ...

rocks from long-extinct volcanoes. This fault has not been active for about 140,000 years and started more than a million years ago. In pre-European times, the area was densely forested by trees such as

kauri ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of 22 species of evergreen tree. The genus is part of the ancient conifer family Araucariaceae, a group once widespread during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, but now largely res ...

mataī ''Prumnopitys taxifolia'', the mataī ( mi, mataī) or black pine, is an endemic New Zealand coniferous tree that grows on the North Island and South Island. It also occurs on Stewart Island/Rakiura (47 °S) but is uncommon there. It grows up ...

and tawa, and was a home for birds such as

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 ...

, tui,

kākā The New Zealand kākā (''Nestor meridionalis'') is a large species of parrot of the family Nestoridae found in New Zealand's native forests. The species is often known by the abbreviated name kākā, although it shares this name with the rece ...

and

kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also ref ...

Demographics

Kaimai statistical area, which does not include the entire range, covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Kaimai had a population of 2,028 at the

2018 New Zealand census Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...

, an increase of 276 people (15.8%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 327 people (19.2%) since the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. There were 678 households, comprising 1,026 males and 1,005 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.02 males per female. The median age was 40.8 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 426 people (21.0%) aged under 15 years, 312 (15.4%) aged 15 to 29, 1,062 (52.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 225 (11.1%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 94.4% European/

Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Ze ...

, 12.4%

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 ...

, 1.0% Pacific peoples, 1.3%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, and 2.2% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 15.1, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 60.2% had no religion, 29.7% were

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, 0.6% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.1% were

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and 0.9% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 273 (17.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 252 (15.7%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $36,800, compared with $31,800 nationally. 309 people (19.3%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 915 (57.1%) people were employed full-time, 276 (17.2%) were part-time, and 42 (2.6%) were unemployed.

Kaimai Tunnel

The Kaimai Railway Tunnel runs for nearly nine kilometres under the range, making it the longest tunnel in New Zealand. Construction of the tunnel started from both sides of the range in 1969: the headings met in 1976 and the tunnel opened on 12 September 1978. The Kaimai Range and this tunnel led to a

Silver Fern ''Alsophila dealbata'', synonym ''Cyathea dealbata'', commonly known as the silver fern or silver tree-fern, or as ponga or punga (from Māori or ),The Māori word , pronounced , has been borrowed into New Zealand English as a generic term fo ...

railcar A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a drive ...

service between Auckland and Tauranga being named the

Kaimai Express The ''Kaimai Express'' long-distance passenger train was operated by Tranz Rail under the Tranz Scenic brand (originally by New Zealand Rail Limited under the InterCity Rail brand) between the North Island cities of Auckland and Tauranga via Ham ...

. This service operated from 1991 until 2001. A peak of the Kaimai directly above the tunnel, previously unnamed, was named Stokes Peak in 2010 in honour of geographer

Evelyn Stokes Dame Evelyn Mary Stokes (née Dinsdale; 5 December 1936 – 15 August 2005) was a professor of geography at the University of Waikato in New Zealand and a member of the New Zealand government's Waitangi Tribunal. Throughout her life she worke ...

Flight 441 disaster

At approximately 9:09 am on 3 July 1963 the

DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

Skyliner ZK-AYZ Hastings operating

New Zealand National Airways Corporation Flight 441 New Zealand National Airways Corporation Flight 441 (NZ441) was a scheduled flight of the New Zealand National Airways Corporation from Whenuapai, Auckland to Tauranga. On 3 July 1963 at approximately 9:09 am NZST, the flight, a Douglas DC-3 S ...

from

Whenuapai Airport Whenuapai is a suburb and aerodrome located in northwestern Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the northwestern shore of the Waitematā Harbour, 15 kilometres to the northwest of Auckland's city centre. It is one of th ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

to Tauranga crashed into the range. All 23 aboard died, making it the worst air disaster in mainland New Zealand.

Communications

The

New Zealand Post Office The New Zealand Post Office (NZPO) was a government department of New Zealand until 1987. It was previously (from 1881 to 1959) named the New Zealand Post and Telegraph Department (NZ P&T). As a government department, the New Zealand Post Office ...

engineering division (radio) built and maintained a

microwave communications Microwave transmission is the transmission of information by electromagnetic waves with wavelengths in the microwave frequency range of 300MHz to 300GHz(1 m - 1 mm wavelength) of the electromagnetic spectrum. Microwave signals are normally lim ...

facility near the top of Kaimai range, close to the

–

highway saddle. In the 1960s it was a Lenkurt relay as part of the national network, linking

Sanitorium Hill A sanatorium (from Latin ''wikt:sanare, sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for Hospital#Specialized, specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and conv ...

near

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

, with a spur to Tauranga. It now has cell phone and various other radio communications facilities, and is owned and operated by

Telecom New Zealand Spark New Zealand Limited is a New Zealand telecommunications company providing fixed-line telephone services, a mobile phone network, internet access services, and (through its Spark Digital division) ICT services to businesses. It was know ...

. Land Parcel: Part Section 126 Block II Tapapa S

Airways New Zealand Airways New Zealand (Airways Corporation of New Zealand Limited) is the sole Air Traffic Service provider in New Zealand. The company was created 1987 as a State-Owned Enterprise having formerly being a division of the Ministry of Transport, a ...

maintains a

Secondary Surveillance Radar Secondary surveillance radar (SSR)''Secondary Surveillance Radar'', Stevens M.C. Artech House, is a radar system used in air traffic control (ATC), that unlike primary radar systems that measure the bearing and distance of targets using the de ...

installation on ''Te Weraiti'', a peak on the Kaimai range, 5 kilometers north of the State Highway 29 saddle. This is used to facilitate

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...

transponder In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend word, blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''. In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a T ...

equipped aircraft in the area.

References

External links

Kaimai Bush

DC3 Airliner Crash

Rail Tunnel

Kaimai Mamaku Forest Park
{{coord, -37.695, 175.886, type:mountain_region:NZ, display=title Mountain ranges of New Zealand Landforms of the Bay of Plenty Region Mountain ranges of Waikato Ngāti Hinerangi Matamata-Piako District Western Bay of Plenty District