Pureora Forest Park

Pureora holds some of the best remaining lowland podocarp forest in the country - rimu, matai, totara and kahikatea of a size that is simply gone almost everywhere else - and it survives because logging was halted after 1978 and the forest became a park. The clearest way to see what was saved is the Forest Tower, a twelve-metre scaffold that puts you in the canopy among the epiphytes and the birds rather than looking up at them. Kokako were close to lost here and are now recovering; kaka and kereru are common. Crossing the park is the Timber Trail, eighty-five kilometres of grade 2-3 cycling on old logging tramways with eight suspension bridges, usually ridden over two days with a night at Piropiro. Huts and campsites are scattered through the park for walkers.

History

In the late 1970s activists led by Stephen King and Shirley Guildford protested against logging by building platforms in the treetops and sitting on them. As a result the park was established in 1978, the government agreed to stop logging for good, and the Native Forest Restoration Trust was formed (Wikipedia, Pureora Forest Park).

Highlights

• The old podocarps - rimu and matai at a size lost elsewhere.
• The Forest Tower - twelve metres up into the canopy.
• The Timber Trail - 85 km of old tramway with eight swing bridges.
• Kokako and kaka - recovering since the logging stopped.

When to go

October to April. The Timber Trail is usually ridden over two days - book Piropiro accommodation and shuttles ahead. Winter is cold and some roads get rough.

Good to know

Access roads are partly unsealed. There is almost no phone coverage. The Timber Trail needs logistics - shuttles, bike hire and a booked bed - rather than turning up. Sandflies and mosquitoes in summer.

Nearby

Lake Taupo is east; Waitomo and Te Kuiti are north-west.

Key facts