Pureora Forest Park

History

Anti-logging protests were led by conservation activists Stephen King, 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 New Zealand Government 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 Taupō and Te Kūiti, mostly in Waikato region but some of the park to the south is in the Manawatū-Whanganui region. It is accessible from State Highway 32, which lies to the west of Lake Taupō. Peaks include Mount Pureora (1165 m), and Mount Titiraupenga (1042 m). To the north west is a peak called Pukeokahu (844 m) that should not be confused with a mountain of the same name much further south in the Rangitikei District of Manawatū-Whanganui 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 Ōtorohanga. The Maramataha Valley is located in the southwestern part of the park and the nearby Maramataha River is impassable in high water.

A buried, subfossil forest that had been submerged under pumice after the eruption of Taupō 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.

Climate

| Jan record high C = 30.0 | Feb record high C = 29.8 | Mar record high C = 29.5 | Apr record high C = 23.9 | May record high C = 20.6 | Jun record high C = 16.5 | Jul record high C = 15.8 | Aug record high C = 18.4 | Sep record high C = 21.7 | Oct record high C = 23.9 | Nov record high C = 27.3 | Dec record high C = 27.8 | year record high C = |Jan record low C = -2.5 |Feb record low C = -2.2 |Mar record low C = -4.5 |Apr record low C = -5.8 |May record low C = -7.8 |Jun record low C = -7.5 |Jul record low C = -9.0 |Aug record low C = -7.9 |Sep record low C = -6.3 |Oct record low C = -4.7 |Nov record low C = -2.7 |Dec record low C = -1.9 |year record low C = |access-date = 20 May 2024}}{{cite web |access-date = 9 Sep 2024}}

Fauna and flora

Lower altitudes are characterised by tawa and tree ferns, as well as tall native trees, including kahikatea, mataī, miro, rimu, and tōtara. The Pouakani Tōtara tree, New Zealand's tallest Tōtara, is located east of the Field Centre. The giant tōtara, rimu, mataī, miro and kahikatea trees tower 40–60 metres, and belong to an ancient family of trees dating from the dinosaur era. Higher altitudes include kāmahi and Hall's tōtara; sub-alpine herbs are abundant near the peaks. Grasses within the park include toetoe. The Pouakani Tōtara Tree is the largest recorded tōtara tree in New Zealand and is located just outside the park in the Wairapara Moana Incorporation reserve, located on the SH30 road.

The invasive house mouse has a significant population within the park. There is rich native bird life in the forest including the rare North Island kōkako and the kākā, kākāriki, kūkū (kererū, a native pigeon), and North Island robin. Sika deer 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 and goats are subject to management operations.

Tourism

Camping, picnicking, swimming, and mountain biking (e.g. the Timber Trail 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 kūkū, kākāriki, and kākā 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

References

1. "Data Table – Protected Areas – LINZ Data Service". [[Land Information New Zealand]].
2. "Walks in the Pureora Forest". Visit Ruapehu.
3. (1 October 2010). "Lonely Planet New Zealand". Lonely Planet.
4. (19 January 1978). "Trees crash near totara campers as logging starts". [[Auckland Star]].
5. "Our history". NZ Native Forests Restoration Trust.
6. (December 2020). "Pureora Forest Park". sirowaw.net.nz.
7. "Pureora Forest Park". New Zealand Tourism Board.
8. "Okahukura Loop". Department of Conservation.
9. "Select Loop Road". conservation.gen.nz.
10. "Pureora mountain biking areas". Department of Conservation.
11. "Waione Tram Mountain Bike Track". Department of Conservation.
12. (December 1988). "A 426-year floating tree-ring chronology from ''Phyllocladus trichomanoides'' buried by the Taupo eruption at Pureora, central North Island, New Zealand". The Royal Society of New Zealand.
13. DeHek, Danny. "Forest Parks – Pureora". newzealandnz.co.nz.
14. "Pureora Forest Park". Department of Conservation.
15. New Zealand. Dept. of Scientific and Industrial Research. (2007). "New Zealand journal of zoology". Dept. of Scientific and Industrial Research.
16. (24 December 2008). "Sika Deer: Biology and Management of Native and Introduced Populations". シュプリンガー・ジャパン株式会社.
17. "Hunting". conservation.gen.nz.
18. Coleman, J.D.. (March 1974). "The integration of management of vertebrate pests in new Zealand". The Royal Society of New Zealand.
19. "Mountain biking Pureora". Department of Conservation.
20. "Pureora Forest Park Hunting Competition 2010 – a roaring success!". doc.govt.nz.