New Zealand Walk: A walk to see fascinating geol ogy in the Far North

Explore our beautiful botanical world

Discover the first-rate walking tracks and spectacular scenery at New Zealand’s national arboretum, a unique park sanctuary for all ages. Eastwoodhill offers over 25km of graded and marked walking tracks set amongst 13,000 exotic and rare trees, shrubs and climbers. Immerse yourself in the beauty of our botanical wonderland and plan to stay - accommodation, self-contained campervan sites.

“A nature lover’s paradise” “This place is truly amazing” “A must see in autumn”

P: 06 863 9003 E: enquiries@eastwoodhill.org.nz A: 2392 Wharekopae Rd, RD 2, Ngatapa, Gisborne www.eastwoodhill.org.nz

A walk to see fascinating volcanic geology in the Far North

By Alex and Jenny Davies

The Wairere Boulders lie in a narrow valley where a stream flows into a remote arm of the Hokianga Harbour.

They are about 4km from the Māngungu Mission, where in 1840 more chiefs signed the Treaty than at Waitangi itself. Today, the Mission is at the end of the 87km Twin Coast cycle trail from Opua. The boulders are contained within a privately owned nature re-

serve. Along a well-formed walking track through mature native forest, we were confronted by a jumble of gigantic volcanic boulders. The trail was initiated by Swiss owners who opened it to the public in 2003. Since 2017, enterprising new owners from Scotland offer B&B accommodation, camping, kayaking, and refreshment at the Boulder Cafe. Panels at the entrance explain Above: The track makes access over and around the boulders easy.

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A walk to see fascinating volcanic .

why massive volcanic boulders lie jumbled in this narrow valley where no volcano is apparent, and why, rare for volcanic rock, these boulders show fluted patterns, worn by the flow of water and usually only found in much less resilient limestone.

With so much to discover around the Hokianga, we had time only to walk the short loop up to the bush pool. We are still curious to know what the “lookout” and the “magic rock” have to offer, and keen to catch sight of a herd of miniature Highland cattle that the owners breed. Above right: Some boulders have interesting expressions. Middle right: Many of the boulders have remarkable fluting.

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