Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
for the government troops. Te Kooti narrowly escaped several times, helped once by a pre-
mature gunshot that warned him off. By 1871 disease and starvation had overtaken the
Tuhoe and eroded their morale. The tribe finally ended its involvement in the war by agree-
ing to swear allegiance to the Crown. Te Kooti, however, refused and the rebel leader es-
caped once more to the King Country, around Waitomo.
With a continuing distrust of Pakeha, Tuhoe turned to another self-proclaimed prophet,
Rua Kenana, who presided over the isolated farming settlement of Maungapohatu from
1905 until his politically motivated 1916 arrest. This effectively erased the last bastion of
Maori independence in the country.
The open hostility against the government surveyors and construction workers trying to
build a road through Te Urewera eased, with Tuhoe finally convinced that such a road
would bring them trade and agricultural benefits. Troops were needed to protect government
workers and the road was not completed until 1930.
Tuhoe remain proud of their identity and traditions, with around 40% still speaking
te reo
(the language) on a regular basis.
The idea of preserving the forest as a watershed was first promoted in 1925. After WWII,
support for turning the area into a national park grew. In early 1954 Tuhoe approved the
name Te Urewera National Park, and the new park was officially gazetted later that year.
Environment
One of NZ's largest national parks, Te Urewera also contains the largest untouched native
forest on the North Island. It is a rugged land that rises to 1400m and forms part of the
mountainous spine stretching from the East Cape to Wellington. The forests form a blanket
over the mountains so thick that barely a peak or ridge can be seen.
Lake Waikaremoana was formed by a landslide that dammed the Waikaretaheke River
around 2200 years ago. The lake filled up to a maximum depth of 248m, but was lowered
5m in 1946 by a hydroelectric development.
There is a diverse selection of trees in the park's forests, ranging from tall and lush podo-
carp and tawa forests in the river valleys, to stunted, moss-covered beech on the higher
ranges. The major change in forest composition occurs around 800m, where the bush of
rimu, northern rata and tawa is replaced by beech and rimu. Above 900m only beech is usu-
ally found. It is estimated that 650 types of native plant are present in the park. The park's
remoteness has preserved much of its wildlife, with a full complement of North Island nat-
ive forest birds being found within its confines, with the exception of weka.
