Tararua Forest Park

The Tararua Forest Park is about 50km north of Wellington and covering 155,000 hectares. This is a rugged area of steep sided hills covered largely in native beech forest with wind-lashed ridges of rotten rock and tussock grass rising to over 1500 metres in places. On a fine summer's day the ridges and peaks provide great views not only of the Tararua range itself, but far beyond to Mt Taranaki in the north-west, the Wairarapa valley in the east, south to Wellington harbour and the Kaikoura range and west to Kapiti Island and the Marlborough Sounds. For much of the winter snow blankets the higher bush and the tops - an awesome place to be when the weather is kind! On the sides of the ranges precipitous streams flow from the open tops, down through the beech forest, combining to form rivers sometimes flowing along open grassy valleys and sometimes slowing to form deep pools in narrow gorges.

Powell Hut. The newest and most comfortable hut in the Tararuas.

Looking to the Eastern face of Mt Holdsworth.

Sign between Powell Hut and Mt Holdsworth (not surprisingly).

Morning mist developing on the Jumbo ridge.

Looking across to Mt McGregor.

Dense Beech forest coming down from Jumbo Hut.

Angle Knob.

Sign at the Jumbo Knob junction.

Angle Knob.

Looking towards the Wairarapa Plains from Mt McGregor.

Waingawa River.