Puketi Forest

Puketi and the adjoining Omahuta form one of the larger remaining kauri forests, and unlike Waipoua the draw here is not a single named giant but the forest as a system. The Manginangina Kauri Walk is a fifteen-minute boardwalk through mature kauri that is fully accessible and gives the best sense of what these forests looked like before logging. Beyond it are longer tracks along the Waipapa River and through to Omahuta, some of them closed at times for kauri dieback. The forest carries a long-running community trapping programme, and the result is that North Island brown kiwi are present in numbers, along with kokako, kaka and kukupa. Guided night walks run from the Puketi Forest Trust base and are the realistic way to hear or see kiwi. Cleaning stations apply as everywhere in kauri country, and the road in is partly unsealed and rough after rain.

What you actually see

• Manginangina boardwalk - fifteen accessible minutes among mature kauri.
• The river tracks - longer routes along the Waipapa.
• Kiwi at night - on guided walks from the trust base.
• Kokako and kaka - the result of sustained trapping.

When to go

October to April. Night walks need booking and run on set evenings. Check track closures for dieback before planning a long route.

Honest expectations

The access road is partly unsealed and poor after rain. Some tracks are closed. Kiwi are heard more often than seen, and never guaranteed. Footwear cleaning is compulsory.

Nearby

Kerikeri and its historic buildings are east; Tane Mahuta and Waipoua are south-west.