Where: In the Papamoa Hills.
Walking Times:
| Te Puke Quarry Road to Manoeka Road |
4 hours one way |
| Manoeka Road to Reservoir |
15 minutes one way |
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This reserve, located in the Papamoa hills, is largely lowland forest dominated by tawa and rewarewa.
There are two walks - a short one which takes you to an old dam which was Te Puke’s original water reservoir and a half-day one which takes you across more hilly terrain.
If you want to walk to the dam, drive to the end of Manoeka Road.
From the turn-off on State Highway 2, it is 5.5 kilometres to the reserve entrance, where there is a grassy parking and picnic area. The last 1.6 kilometres of road is gravel.
A well-defined track crosses the Kirikiri Stream into the reserve and takes you through a lovely puriri grove to a small clearing beside the reservoir. You can cross the stream several times to get there. |
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To do the longer walk, drive to the top of Te Puke Quarry Road. You will need to cross private farm land to enter the reserve, where the track takes you to the Wharetetarakeho trig. There are awesome coastal views from here.
Entering the forest, the track follows the gently undulating ridgeline to Otawa trig (2 hours). From here, you can go back the way you came or continue along the track, which descends steeply to meet the reservoir track at the end of Manoeka Road (another 2 hours).
For the super-fit, 400 metres past the Otawa trig, a branch to the right leads to Otanewainuku. If you want to walk there, it is about 16 kilometres (8 hours) to Mountain Road.
A detailed map of this track is available from the Department of Conservation in Tauranga, at 253 Chadwick Road, Greerton.
No dogs or fires are allowed in the Park without a permit.