Tag Archives: Whakamarama

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 →

Leyland O’Brien Tramway Track

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The Leyland O’Brien Tramway (or Tramline) Track follows the route taken by a tramway last used many years ago to extract logs from the forest in the Kaimai Range. The northern end of the track is at the end of Whakamarama Road, and the southern end is at a junction with the North / South Track which runs along the length of the northern end of the Kaimai Mamaku Forest Park. On the way it joins up with the Ngamuwahine Track.

The DoC web site has information about the track. However, the expected time of 2 hours in each direction does not agree with the DoC panels along the track, and the actual walking time was about 2 hours 15 minutes without any breaks. One of the few tracks where the actual walking time was longer than the DoC posted time. Continue reading →

Puketoki Reserve

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Puketoki Reserve is only a short distance from Tauranga, accessible from Leyland Rd, off Whakamarama Rd. The reserve consists of 85 acres of bush, donated to the Whakamarama Community by Mr Henry H Sharplin of the Whakamarama Land and Timber Company in 1926. Before that time it was milled, so the only old surviving trees would be those not suitable for timber at that time. Tramways for transporting logs passed through the reserve, and in a few places the location of the tramways can still be seen. Continue reading →