Rimutaka Forest Park - Department of Conservation

Catchpool Stream J. Rolfe
Wellington Conservancy
Published by
Department of Conservation
Christchurch
2006
RS0040
Rimutaka Forest Park
Wellington
The 22,000-hectare Rimutaka Forest Park
encompasses much of the Rimutaka Range dividing
the Hutt Valley from the Wairarapa Plains. Easily
accessible from Wellington, the area is popular with
trampers and hunters. The popular Catchpool Valley
recreational area is just 30 kilometres from Wellington.
History
Early Mäori used the Rimutaka range as a refuge
during tribal wars and as a source of food. One
of their major trails traversed the range between
Waiorongomai in the east and Lowry Bay in the west.
A rail route established in 1878 between the Hutt Valley
and Featherston carried passengers up the steep
incline from the Rimutaka summit to Featherston until
the Rimutaka rail tunnel opened in 1955. DOC and the
Wellington Regional Council now jointly manage the
incline as a recreational area. It provides one of the
best mountain-biking trips in the Wellington region.
Parts of three large catchments in the Rimutaka Range
– the Wainuiomata, Orongorongo and Pakuratahi
–were set aside for water supply purposes and are
now controlled by the Wellington Regional Council with
restricted access. The importance of the remaining
area for water supply and flood control (as well as
recreational use) led to its gazettal as a State Forest
Park in 1972.
Wildlife
Common birds that can be seen in the park include
bellbirds, tüï, käkä, kererü and ruru. The Rimutaka
Forest Park Trust plans to release up to 10 captivebred
North Island brown kiwi within the Turere
Stream catchment of Rimutaka Forest Park in
2006. In preparation for their release, the Trust has
been controlling stoats and other predators in the
1000- hectare area for two years. The kiwi will have
transmitters attached and be radio tracked regularly to
determine how they are coping with life in the wild.
To create a safe habitat for kiwi, dogs must be
excluded from the Turere Stream catchment and
prohibited from roaming into the area from the
surrounding tracks. There is considerable community
and sponsorship support for this project.
Red deer, goats, pigs and possums are also present
in the park. Recreational hunting is encouraged except
in the Catchpool Valley, within 200 metres of the
Orongorongo River and the Landcare research area.
Because these areas have a high level of public use,
discharging of firearms is prohibited.

Catchpool Bridge J. Rolfe
Vegetation
Geological, tectonic and climatic forces have shaped
the vegetation patterns of the Rimutaka Range. Beech
forest dominates across much of the area, and at lower
altitudes podocarp trees are present and kamahi is
a predominant canopy tree, with emergent trees like
rimu, rata, miro, hïnau, rewarewa and maire in some
areas.
The southern end of the range, where most of the
original forest has been destroyed by fire, is covered at
lower altitudes by shrub species like mänuka, tauhini,
rangiora and heketara with some emergent hïnau
and rewarewa. This area will eventually regenerate
into mature forest similar to that found in the northern
ranges.
Harvesting the pines at Catchpool
A new era has begun in the life of Catchpool Valley.
The hugely popular picnicking and walking spot in
Rimutaka Forest Park is losing its pine trees and will
begin the long process of reverting to native forest. A
contract to harvest the pines began on 1 June 2001,
and once the eight-year logging project is completed,
the area will be left to regenerate. In 50 years or so, the
area should be back in native forest cover.
Regenerating the valley’s native forest will be a slow
process. For the first ten or so years, gorse will cover
much of the area, and it will be left to serve as a
nursery plant for native species, providing shade and
cover and fixing nitrogen to enrich the soil. Eventually
some native species will grow through the gorse and
slowly shade it out. The transition will slowly be made
to native species such as mähoe, rangiora, rewarewa,
tawa, kaikömako and beech.
Nature will largely be left on its own to complete this
process, but the Department of Conservation will have
several important tasks. They will use their best efforts
to remove all wilding pines, and fire risks must be
carefully managed. A single fire has the potential to
put the process back at least 30 years.
The Orongorongo Valley
The Orongorongo Valley is the site of one of the
longest running ecological studies in New Zealand.
Ecological research has been undertaken here since
1946. In the 1960s and 1970s, ecologists working here
first began gathering evidence of the severe impacts
that possums could have on forest health. Research
in the Orongorongo Valley has also given ecologists
important insights into the functioning of beech forest
systems.
Further information
For more information on the Rimutaka Forest Park,
see www.doc.goct.nz or visit the Department of
Conservation Poneke Area Office, PO Box 5086,
Wellington (phone 04 472 5821)or the Conservation
Information Centre, located in the Government
Buildings, 15 Lambton Quay, Wellington
(phone 04 472 7356).
Turere Bridge J. Rolfe