Tararua Forest Park

Otaki River near Otaki Forks.

Tararua Forest Park, often called the Tararuas is a protected area in the Wellington region of New Zealand. Its area is 116,535 ha (around 450 mi2), and its highest point, a peak called Mitre, is at 1571 m above sea level. It was established in 1954, as New Zealand's first Forest Park,[1] and is managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC) under the Conservation Act. Tararua Forest Park includes more than three-quarters of the Tararua Range, and its boundaries extend north from New Zealand State Highway 2.[2]

Project Kaka

A DOC project launched in 2010, named Project Kaka aims to reduce numbers of rats, stoats and possums over 22,000 ha of the park. The pests will be controlled by aerial drops of 1080 poison with the goal of restoring native plant, insects and birds including kākā, kākāriki and kererū.[3]

Cone Hut, one of the oldest huts in the Tararuas

Shorman's-Kaitoke

Shorman's-Kaitoke is a tramping route within the Tararua Forest Park. It starts at Putara in the north-east, near a farm or track previously called Shorman and finishes at Kaitoke in the south. The classic route follows the tops of almost the entire Tararua main range, it is approximately 80 km long with 7000 to 8000 metres of ascent and descent. There is virtually no level ground nor straight sections of track and the whole route is very exposed to the frequent storms that sweep across the Tararuas. An unofficially recognised challenge amongst Wellington trampers is to complete this route in less than two days either supported or self-sufficient. An alternative route follows valleys along a fault line, the surface trace of the Tararua section of the Wellington Fault, to the east of the main range. This stays within the Tararua Forest Park but involves much less ascent and avoids bad weather on the mountaintops.

Weather

Wind at higher elevations can be severe (more so than many other places in New Zealand). Trampers should be aware of this. Walking bent over with your hands close to the ground is one technique to deal with severe winds.

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Category:Tararua Forest Park.
  1. ↑ "Tararua Forest Park". New Zealand Tramper. 20 June 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  2. ↑ "Tararua Forest Park". Department of Conservation. 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  3. ↑ "Lots of rats and few birds in the Tararua Ranges" (Press release). Department of Conservation. 25 February 2010. Retrieved 21 March 2010.

Coordinates: 40°50′S 175°23′E / 40.83°S 175.39°E / -40.83; 175.39

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