Tag Archives: Tauranga

Te Rere o Ōmanawa/Ōmanawa Falls (Update)

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Public access to view Ōmanawa Falls opened in December 2023 after a lengthy closure. Extensive work has been done on a new parking area, toilets, information panels, access tracks, steps and viewing platforms. For information about the falls and the previous viewing access see the post Omanawa Falls. Official information about the falls, including opening times, and a downloadable map of the new tracks can be found on the Tauranga City web site.

Development work was done with the involvement of Ngāti Hangarau, for whom the falls are a sacred place, a place for reflection, interpretation and healing. There is no public access to the lake at the bottom of the falls or the underground power station. The end of the track and last lookout is almost directly above the top of the falls.

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Pāpāmoa Hills Cultural Heritage Regional Park (Update)

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A new entrance to the Pāpāmoa Hills Cultural Heritage Regional Park, including parking area, toilets, entryway and tracks, was officially opened on November 25, 2023. Details of the dawn blessing were covered on the SunLive website and in the Bay of Plenty/Te Puke Times. More details of the park can be found on the Bay of Plenty Regional Council web site. The old carpark is still available.

This post covers some of the new features and tracks, walking from the new carpark to the summit and back. Previous posts on this site have covered other tracks in the park, including the summit track; Maraeroa, Valley and Puriri Tracks; and Te Rae o Papamoa Track.

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Papamoa Hills – Maraeroa, Valley and Puriri Tracks

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There are a number of walking tracks in the Papamoa Hills Cultural Heritage Regional Park near Tauranga, but several of these are currently unmarked and only shown on aerial photos at various locations within the park. One of the longest and most varied of these tracks, the Maraeroa Track, is only shown on the information panel by the carpark on Poplar Lane, off Te Puke Highway (the old SH2). The most used track is the Karangaumu Summit Track, and the lower part of this track also provides access to the other tracks within the park.

The tracks described here are the Maraeroa , Valley and Puriri tracks. Maraeroa Track branches off the summit track and returns to the summit track about 150 metres further up. Valley Track and Puriri Track branch off Maraeroa Track and can also connect with Te Rae O Papamoa Track. For an older description of the summit track and part of Te Rae O Papamoa Track see the previous post Papamoa Hills Cultural Heritage Regional Park.

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Puketoromiro Pa site, Tauranga

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The Puketoromiro Pa site in the Kopurererua Valley has been cleared of the eucalyptus trees growing on it, and a set of steps crossing over the summit have been constructed, with a connecting walkway/cycleway from the existing path through the valley. Currently the site has not officially been opened, and there are currently no information panels by the site. But the gates have been opened and people are accessing the site.

The only information about the new walk across the pa site is apparently an article on the SunLive web site, which has some historical information and expects the completion with interpretation panels and replanted native vegetation in August 2020. This post will be updated after the track has been officially opened and information panels erected.

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Pā Kererū Loop Walk, Whakamārama

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The Pā Kererū Loop Walk was opened in early November 2019 after several years of work by  the Mahi Boys training program, a special team who are all clients of the Bay of Plenty District Health Board mental health service. A story with details and photos can be found on the Bay of Plenty Times web site. The loop walk is located at the end of Whakamarama Road, starting from the same location as the Leyland O’Brien Tramway track and the Ngamarama Track.

The Pā Kererū track mainly follows the old Poripori and Leyland O’Brien tramlines, with very easy gradients and bridges over stream crossings. The walking time is marked as 40 minutes for the loop, starting and ending at the Bulldozer Blade Clearing at the southern end of Whakamarama Road. Continue reading →

TECT Park Radio Repeater lookout

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The TECT All Terrain Park is located on Whataroa Road, off SH36 (Tauranga Direct Road) between Tauranga and Rotorua. Numerous activities are catered for in the park, with the area west of SH36 covering non-motorised activities, such as horse riding, mountain biking, hiking, model aeroplanes, shooting, and dog exercise. Details of the park can be found on their web site. Various maps can be viewed or downloaded from the maps page on the site.

The Te Rerenga Trail and Lost Tank tracks in the park have been covered in a separate post. This post covers the tracks to the radio repeater site with a lookout, with extensive views of the surrounding area. Continue reading →

Kopurererua Valley, Tauranga

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Kopurererua Valley is a low-lying area about 5 km long covering an area of 300 hectares, with Kopurererua Stream running through it, from Tauriko at the southern end and Waihi Road at the northern end. The valley is bisected by Takitimu Drive, a toll road, which is part of SH29. The ridge on the western side of the valley has Cambridge Road running along the ridgeline, and the ridge on the eastern side has Cameron Road running along the ridgeline. The Whakapaewaka Bridge across Takitimu Drive, officially opened in early August 2018, allows walkers and cyclists to cross over from one side of the valley to the other, near the midpoint of the valley.

Combined walkways and cycleways run through the valley, with tracks leading to various side streets along the way. Bridges across Kopurererua Stream have also recently been constructed, and most of the tracks are wide with a gravel surface. Some are still grass areas which can be wet and muddy during winter and wet periods. Much of the valley consists of wetlands, and a boardwalk over parts of the wet area connects the ends of 17th Avenue and Faulkner Street. Continue reading →

Ohauiti Reserve

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Ohauiti Reserve runs parallel to and partly alongside Ohauiti Road between McFetridge Lane and Rowesdale Drive. A number of walking tracks run through and across the reserve, with areas of bush, wetlands, open grassland, and flood plains. The reserve tracks are included in the brochure Tauranga Walkways and Cycleways, available for download from the Tauranga City Council web site.

The brochure does not mention the locations of the various access points, or where parking can be found near the reserve. A small parking area is available on McFetridge Lane, with only on-street parking available near the other access points. There are no toilets in the reserve or nearby. Continue reading →

Papamoa Beach, Wairakei, Topaz Drive Reserves

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Walkways and cycleways run through stormwater drainage reserves between Parton Road the Pacific View Road in Papamoa. They cross various streets along the way, and there are side tracks leading to streets adjacent to the reserves. This walk was done starting at Parton Rd,  through the reserves to Domain Rd, along Domain Rd to Papamoa Domain, along the sand dunes through Papamoa Beach Reserve (or Papamoa Coastal Reserve), and back to Parton Rd. A total distance of about 7.7 km.

Tauranga City Council publishes a small brochure, Tauranga Walkways and Cycleways, with descriptions of various walking and cycling tracks within the city. A previous version of this brochure contained the loop walk described here, whereas the current (undated) brochure describes only the part through the drainage reserves.

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Te Rerenga and Lost Tank Tracks – TECT All Terrain Park

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The TECT All Terrain Park is located about halfway between Tauranga and Rotorua, straddling SH36, and accessible from Whataroa Road. It is divided into two main zones, with various activities in each zone. The motorsports zone is located to the east of SH36, and the activity zone, off Weld Road, to the west of SH36. The park covers 1650 hectares of pine and native forest, with parts of the pine forest being clear felled at various times. Information about the park is found on the TECT All Terrain Park web site, including panoramic aerial photos of the park, maps, and details of activities.

There is a single dedicated hiking trail in the park, the Te Rerenga Tunnel Track, a loop track which starts and ends at the park entrance, where there is a parking area and toilet facilities. The track is about 3.2 km long, and is mostly an easy walk. Near the tunnel under SH36 there are steeper sections with steps on steeper parts and bridges across small streams. A torch is highly recommended for passing through the 36 meter long tunnel.

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