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Enriching the Forest Experience

The iconic Whakarewarewa and Tokorangi Forests are places much-loved by many. They are of significance to iwi (Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao and Ngāti Whakaue respectively), and a popular playground for local and visiting mountain bikers, runners and walkers. They are recognised as important recreational areas for the Rotorua community and as assets that attract events and tourism.

While this area is commonly referred to as the Whakarewarewa Forest or ‘The Redwoods’, it is made up of both the Tokorangi Forest (The Redwoods area) and the Whakarewarewa Forest (the commercial forest that grows beyond this).

As part of the earlier Vision 2030 work, the Whakarewarewa Forest Development received a $7.09 million investment through Kānoa – Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit, which was used alongside match funding of $7.5 million from Rotorua Lakes Council, to enhance the forest amenity and improve the experience for all.

The redevelopment of the forest was aimed to create significant opportunities for the city, as well as benefits for tourism. It also aims to spark commercial investment and create new jobs in the area.

What did the project include?

Ngāti Whakaue, Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao, and CNI Iwi Holdings Ltd (the vested land holders of Whakarewarewa) together with Rotorua Lakes Council, developed a masterplan for the Tokorangi and Whakarewarewa forest blocks.

The plan identified key recreational, cultural and commercial development opportunities with services supporting users and manuhiri (visitors).

The development was based from the idea of the forest being conceptualised as a traditional Māori Pā and the concept of Tāne Whakapiripiri. The concept of Tāne whakapiripiri is an embrace - the trees of Tane bound together. This was represented by the wooden wharenui visitor hub as the gatherer and connector of people. It brings people together, invites inclusiveness and the collective integration of ideas as the foundation for innovation, creativity and sustainability. The pā is a place of protection and refuge, a place to learn, eat and play with whānau and as a village community. The forest is the realm of Tāne – nurturing and perpetuating life and providing physical and spiritual sustenance to those within its embrace.

Project stages:

Tītokorangi Drive (previously Long Mile Road) upgrade

The development initially focused on Tītokorangi Drive (previously Long Mile Road), enhancing road access and parking facilities. Plans for a new visitor hub have been considered and may be included in future development stages.

The work on Tītokorangi Drive included formalising footpaths and shared paths, upgraded car and bus parking, stormwater management, kerbs and channels, and an improved connection to Scion. It also included the creation of an entrance way of significance, featuring artworks and informative panels telling a story of duality and balance that connects past and present, tradition and innovation, tangata whenua and manuhiri.

Te Pūtake o Tawa

Te Pūtake o Tawa, also commonly known as Forest Hub 2 on Tarawera Road was completed and officially opened in October 2020. Work began on Te Pūtake o Tawa in late June 2019, and what was once only a small gravel car park, has been transformed into a comprehensive hub with capacity for 400+ vehicles, event spaces, brand new toilets and showers, bike washing facilities, bike hire and food vendors. There is also significant scope for future commercial development and employment opportunities.

In October 2021, Tūhourangi taonga (artworks) were also installed at Te Pūtake o Tawa. This provided the ability to share kōrero (stories) of tūpuna (ancestors) that are important to Tūhourangi. Te Pūtake o Tawa has now become a place where the public and Tūhourangi descendants can learn about this whakapapa.

Whakarewarewa Forest Loop

The Whakarewarewa Forest Loop cycle trail has also been completed as part of the project. The trail was opened in stages throughout 2020 and was officially added to the Ngā Haerenga Great Rides network in May 2022.

The 33km circular mountain bike trail takes riders through some of the iconic features that Rotorua mountain biking is renowned for – fun trails, Māori culture, Redwood trees, geothermal activity, and stunning views.

Being mostly a Grade 2 track, with a couple of Grade 3 sections mixed in, the Loop is designed to be accessible for people of almost all ages, abilities and fitness levels. The trail showcases Rotorua mountain biking to people who may not have had the opportunity to experience these iconic features on more advanced trails.

Why was this project important?

Mountain biking, trail walking and running in the Tokorangi and Whakarewarewa forests are part of Rotorua’s DNA. Since the late 1980s, Rotorua has worked alongside the landowners, iwi representatives and users (who form the more recently established Rotorua Trail Trust), to strategically develop and leverage these unique natural assets. This activity has spawned a range of successful commercial entities and activities including the establishment of Rotorua as one of the tour stops of the global Crankworx event in 2015.

The trails attract an estimated 230,000 people for mountain biking and up to 800,000 other visitors each year. The development has provided the infrastructure necessary to support the continued enjoyment of this asset for all visitors, and leverage the economic, social, cultural and environmental potential the asset provides to our region.

The ongoing development of Whakarewarewa Forest is about enhancing and creating areas that are sustainable for future generations, as well as making the forest more accessible for a variety of users to enjoy.

How was this project funded?

Council managed an investment of $14.59 million to enhance the forest amenity and improve the experience for all users. Council allocated $7.5 million to the project in its 2018 – 2028 Long-term Plan with $7.09 million contributed by Kānoa – Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit.

Who was part of the project development?

The project was a collaborative effort. Rotorua Lakes Council worked closely with the landowners, CNI Iwi Holdings, and mana whenua Ngāti Whakaue and Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao. Council also worked closely with the Whakarewarewa Forest Managers, Timberlands Limited.

The Tokorangi and Whakarewarewa forest lands are owned by Central North Island Iwi Holdings Ltd, following its 2008 settlement with Government.

Council is responsible for the management of the Tokorangi Forest block under the terms of the Crown Forestry Licence (CFL). Council also manages recreation in the Whakarewarewa Forest under a management agreement with CNI and Timberlands who hold the CFL for the Whakarewarewa Forest block. Both CFLs expire in 2043 when full management and ownership will be returned to mana whenua iwi.

Council is in the process of formalising a co-governance group for the Whakarewarewa Forest to support ongoing, sustainable recreational use, management and development in the forest. This group includes Rotorua Lakes Council, Te Komiti Nui O Ngāti Whakaue, Tuhourangi Tribal Authority, CNI and Timberlands.

A māori sculpture of an umukaria (chief) on a hilltop at night lit up by lights with grass in the foreground

Umukaria (Chief) by Tukiri Tini at Te Pūtake o Tawa

News updates
Whakahou kawepūrongo

4 April 2023 – Work begins on Motutara Point / Sanatorium track upgrade

6 May 2022 – Tourism Minister announces Whakarewarewa Forest Loop as Great Ride

30 October 2021 – Te hura i nga pou whenua o Tūhourangi – Unveiling of Tūhourangi artworks at Te Pūtake o Tawa

15 October 2020 – Te Pūtake o Tawa now open

13 July 2020 – Carving space blessed

6 July 2020 – Proposals for upgrade of Long Mile Road Visitor Centre shortlisted

27 June 2020 – Extra funding for museum and forest developments

19 February 2020 – New bus and equestrian parks for Long Mile Road

12 December 2019 – And that’s a wrap!

20 November 2019 – Long Mile Road upgrade in final stages of construction

5 November 2019 – Rotorua Lakes Council’s sport, recreation and environment manager, Rob Pitkethley, discusses Rotorua’s new Great Ride that will take in the very best of Rotorua’s Whakarewarewa and Tokorangi Forests.

25 September 2019 – Jess Dallaway, senior project engineer at WSP Opus, discusses the design elements for developments in Rotorua’s Whakarewarewa and Tokorangi Forests.

18 September 2019 – Jean-Paul Gaston, general manager of strategy at Rotorua Lakes Council, gives us an update on the forest project.

10 September 2019 – Jean-Paul Gaston, general manager of strategy at Rotorua Lakes Council, presents an update on the forest project at an event at the Rotorua Library.

10 October 2019 – Car park temporarily closed at new forest hub site

3 October 2019 – Forest project update

13 September 2019 – New forest loop cycle trail

11 September 2019 – Sneak peek at new toilet and shower block

3 September 2019 – New forest loop to showcase iconic features of Rotorua

20 August 2019 – Long Mile Road lights up

28 June 2019 – Work begins at new forest hub

11 June 2019 – Long Mile Road upgrade progresses

6 June 2019 – Work to begin at Tarawera Road Forest Hub

12 April 2019 – Intersection at the top of Long Mile Road complete

28 February 2019 – Work begins on Long Mile Road as part of Whakarewarewa Forest development

The History
Te Tāhuhu Kōrero

Up until the 1880s the Titokorangi (or Tokorangi) and Whakarewarewa forests were home to Māori settlements and cultivations for both Ngāti Whakaue and Tūhourangi.

For both iwi the forests now referred to as Titokorangi, Whakarewarewa, Waipa and highlands were important food gathering forests. Titokorangi was a stronghold of Ngāti Whakaue, where they worked the lands and hunted in the forests. Whakarewarewa was used by both iwi.

Tūhourangi harvested tawa berries at Moerangi, Kākāpiko and Pākaraka. Ducks, raupō (bulrush) and kōkōwai were also procured in these areas, and rāhui were annually set up and adhered to by other iwi and hapū. In addition, Waipa was an important source of timber for Ngāti Wāhiao.

Ngāti Whakaue and Tūhourangi respectfully acknowledge each other’s mana whenua in the area, based on traditional relationships through shared whakapapa ties and on common historical associations relevant to these lands over many generations.

Around the advent of the Native Land Court in the 1880s, the NZ government began an attempt to replace the native forests that were being cleared rapidly by European settlers for farmland and timber. By the late 19th century, 7 million hectares of native forest was gone.

The government purchased blocks of land off the Māori landowners in 1896 and knowing New Zealand native trees grow very slowly (200-300 years to mature) a government nursery was set up to determine the best exotic species most suited for commercial harvesting in the Bay of Plenty.

Black and white aerial photo of Tarawera road and a plantation forest

Tarawera road with plantation forest. Ref WA-19817-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.

Seeds were imported on sailing ships from around the world and the first of 170 different species of trees were planted in a trial area by the NZ Forest Service and prison labour. As part of a Government labour scheme, temporary prison camps were built in isolated places and the inmates put to work in the forest. Two camps were set up, one in the Waipa Valley, and one on the site of the present Lake Rotokakahi picnic area.

Trail plantings continued for many years and in 1901, the first Californian Coast Redwoods were planted. Native to the North West coast of America, the botanical name ‘sequoia semperviren’ was given to the Californian Redwood by a German botanist to honour Cherokee Chief Seqoyah. The common name Redwood comes from the tree’s heartwood, which is a light cherry colour and can darken to nut-brown when exposed to air. The largest Redwood in the area is approximately 72 metres tall and 169 centimetres in diameter. In its natural habitat of California, these Redwoods grow as tall as 110 metres and the average lifespan is 600 years. However, they can survive for over 2000 years. The results of the planting were mixed – of the original 12 hectares, only six hectares survives today.

By 1915, there was the first small harvest of timber, which was used for firewood. Later, mine props were cut for the Waihi gold and the Huntly coalmines.

Black and white photo of men cultivating crops on a paddock in front of the Whakarewarewa forest

Men cultivating crops on the edge of the Whakarewarewa State Forest, New Zealand Herald Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 1370-125-2

Following the First World War, in 1925, the grove of now maturing Redwood trees was declared a memorial to those NZ Forest Service members who died in the war. This happened again in 1947, following the Second World War.

While the first walking track was developed in 1939, it was not until the 1970s that the Redwoods were open to the public. An informal move to enable people to enjoy the forest was made when the Redwoods Memorial Grove walking track and old prison camp site at Lake Rotokakahi opened to the public for recreation.

In October of 1975, the forest area was officially designated as a “Forest park” under the Forests Act and this was quickly followed by a forestry visitor centre opening in 1978. The next decade also saw a number of new walking tracks developed, including the Waitawa Walk, which was developed and opened as an identification trail.

In 1987, the “Forest Park” designation was removed following the restructuring of the NZ Forest Service and in 1988 the Government decided to sell off Crown forestry assets. Because the area was widely recognised for its importance to the Rotorua district for historical, recreational and aesthetic reasons and had a high level of public use, the forest was given special status to ensure these issues were considered by the new forestry owners and free recreational access was retained.

An elderly woman reading the sign for Whakarewarewa State Forest walk

Whakarewarewa State Forest walk in Rotorua, Young, Eric W. (1980-1989) Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 1021-143.

The area is now synonymous with mountain biking, but this might not have been the case if it wasn’t for local mountain bike enthusiast Fred Christensen and a bunch of community service workers who built the first trails in 1993. New tracks would continue to be developed by Fred and others as the sport grew in popularity.

The forest management changed hands again in 1996 when the Forestry Corporation of New Zealand was sold to Fletcher Challenge Forests, who took over management of the Whakarewarewa forest, and management of The Redwoods on behalf of the Rotorua District Council.

In 2003, Fletcher Challenge Forests split its forest assets and sold them off to national and international companies. As a result, management of The Redwoods area was now passed on to the new forestry management company, Kaingaroa Timberlands. Kaingaroa Timberlands relinquished their management agreement of The Redwoods in May of 2006 and the Rotorua District Council took over management of the public reserve area.

By the early 2000s mountain biking was a very popular sport and tracks were popping up all over the forest. So, in 2004 a policy was developed to govern mountain bike access and any track building. The outcomes of which was to increase communication and co-operation between the forest managers and mountain bikers. The Rotorua Mountain Bike Club became the key point of contact and most tracks are now developed and maintained by the club or volunteer track adoptees.

The land on which the Whakarewarewa Forest and Titokorangi Forest (Redwoods) sits was returned to Māori ownership in July of 2009 as part of a Treaty of Waitangi settlement. The Redwoods continued to be managed by the Rotorua District Council and the Whakarewarewa Forest continued to be managed by Kaingaroa Timberlands. By 2010, a working group comprised of representatives from the Council, Kaingaroa Timberlands, Iwi and CNI Iwi Holdings (the land management company) was set-up to focus on the recreational management in the forests. In October of 2016, the ‘Recreational Use of the Titokorangi and Whakarewarewa Forests Policy’ was agreed on by the various parties. The policy puts in place mechanisms to manage the recreational activity to ensure that any potential risk to forest users can be managed alongside forestry activity. This means any activity other than general access by foot, bike or horse requires a permit.

In 2014, new facilities and access to the forest were built at the Waipa entrance and in 2015 the Tree Walk was opened in the Redwoods. The eco-friendly Tree Walk consists of 21 suspension bridges up to 12 metres off the ground.

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