Kauri Park



Kauri Park via Rangatira Road



Sunday was a grey day, the forecast was for fine spells with rain and I had organised a walk into a bush area called Kauri Park in Birkenhead.  I arranged to meet everyone at 8.00 am at the Rangatira Road entrance and after a delayed start we set off into the bush keeping to the left and following the track down the steep steps.  I must also mention that to protect the kauri all shoes must be brushed and sprayed before entering this Park and there are cleaning stations available at all entrances.  This is to try and stop soil based disease from damaging the kauri trees and spreading from contaminated shoes.



Kauri Park Tracks

This park has huge kauri trees, I believe that the older trees are actually to the North of the park and are quite easy to spot along the track, the kauri is indigenous to New Zealand. I'm told that they are the "conifer" tree of New Zealand.They can grow to 50 metres in height and originally much of the North of the North Island and Northland would have been covered in kauri.  They are simply one of the most impressive trees I have ever seen; they have huge trunks with girths up to 16 metres. Apparently the bark flakes and sheds from the tree to protect it from invading parasites. Maori used the timber of the tree to make boats, to build with, to make carvings and the gum was mixed with water and plant extract which was then chewed - sort of an early version of chewing gum.

Kauri Trees

The trees are evidence of ancient woods going as far back as the Jurassic age, sadly much of the kauri forests had been plundered by the 1900’s as European settlers arrived the kauri was used for timber and the gum extracted. The young kauri tree was very popular for making masts and spars.  The great kauri forests and bush were cleared to make way for farmland and houses.

Steep Steps and Narrow Tracks

In the early 1920’s 15 acres of this park were first made a public reserve,by Birkenhead Borough Council. A lot of improvements were made, tracks were constructed and entrance gates were made to the tracks in 1931, then in 1948 a serious fire threatened the reserve. A further 5 acres were added to the park in 1965 which was then under the control of the North Shore Scenic Board.

Stopping for a De-robe

The track we followed from Rangatira Road is the beginning of the loop track and to the left the main kauri grove is only few minutes’ walk away. The trees here are around 200 and 400 years old. 

Much of this track is not suitable for Nordic Walking, it’s steep, very slippery and much of it is boardwalk and what isn't boardwalk is narrow in places and riddled with tree root.  It is however beautiful, it’s been lovingly restored with tanekaha and kauri.  The nikau, puriri and many other plants and trees live amongst the kanuka (shrub). It can be quite dark in there as the trees are tall and the canopy is dense in parts.

Very Steep in Places and Slippery Underfoot

We crossed the bridge at the stream which took us past native plants, orchids and ponga trees. Eventually as we walked further we came out at Hebe Place so we turned back and followed the track through to the right but couldn’t pick up the track.

Beautiful Trees, Plants and Bush

Despite having a map we did find following the track difficult, it would be useful if the tracks were marked to make them much easier to find.  However we continued walking through until we came across another entrance at Kauri Road where we continued making our way around the park on the footpath.

Walking through the Street and Back to Rangatira Road

We made our way up the steep Waipa Street, turned right at the corner of Verran Road and continued along Rangatira Road and back to the cars.

We spent a few minutes searching for one of our walkers before making our way over to Verrans Espresso and food.

This is a lovely old fashioned Kiwi cafe, waitress service with a beautiful selection of food and beverages.  The service was excellent and my Blueberry Dazzle smoothie was one of the best I’ve had for a long time and my eggs on toast were scrumptious.

Information & Sources:

http://www.bngcommunitytrust.org.nz/kauri.php
http://www.localhistoryonline.org.nz/cgi-bin/CUI?e=0-------0----------0-1-0-0-&a=d&c=nshore-newspapers&cl=CL3.1980s.1981&d=nsnw-NNI-AAA-9680
http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/native-plants/kauri/