New Zealand Walk
Wuthering Heights -
Conservation area, King Country
your arms. Few people, however, know that Tawarau exists, so its You cannot help but feel dwarfedunique scenery is perhaps the King by the towering escarpments ofCountry’s best kept secret. Tawarau. They rise abruptly either Tawarau is one of the best remainside of you, and at times it seems youing examples of a virgin forest growcould touch them if you stretched outing in a karst (limestone) landscape. It is dominated by hardwoods, such as hinau, kamahi, and re-
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34 Walking New Zealand, issue no 282 - 2021
Walking New Zealand Shop
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Tawarau By Phillip Donnell
warewa, with emergent podocarps. At the same time, it is known for its “cool climate” vegetation and you’ll find species such as Cordyline indivisa (the mountain cabbage tree) at an unusually low altitude. Yet another draw-card is the variety of native birds that make their home here, including the falcon, grey warbler, tomtit, kereru, rifleman, bellbird, whitehead and, in summer, long-tailed cuckoo. Long-tailed bats frequent the area. Tawarau also has an exceptional diversity of land snails, with 82 species recorded. But the primary attraction is its spectacular gorge. The Gorge Track can be walked from Speedies Road in the north to Were Road in the south in about four hours, or just as easily in reverse. Because the two road ends are 50 kilometres apart, www.walkingnewzealand.co.nz
