Kahurangi National Park

About

Kahurangi National Park is a national park in the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the second largest of the thirteen national parks of New Zealand. It was gazetted in 1996 and covers 5,193 km2 (2,005 mi2), ranging from the Buller River near Murchison in the south, to the base of Farewell Spit in Golden Bay in the north. Its geology is complex, and is the most diverse of any of New Zealand's protected areas. It includes the best sequence of palaezoic rocks in the country. The park has no single dominant landform, but includes an unusually wide variety of landscapes, including mountain ranges, rivers, gorges, raised peneplains and karst features such as caves and arches. Many of the landforms within the park are considered to be nationally or internationally significant. Kahurangi National Park also contains 80% of all New Zealand's alpine species. It also contains around 18 endemic bird species. The park includes the Heaphy Track, a popular tramping and mountain biking track that is classified as one of New Zealand's Great Walks. Another multi-day tramping track in the park is the Wangapeka Track. In addition to tramping, rafting and caving are popular activities...

There is archaeological evidence that Māori had settled the Kahurangi coastline from around 1380 CE, with pā sites on coastal ridges and evidence of more substantial habitation found around several of the river mouths and estuaries in the area.

The Anaweka waka found near the park's western boundary was built as early as 1226 CE, and was sailed as late as 1400 CE. It is one of only two-long distance voyaging canoes known to have survived to modern times, and was probably used for return journeys from New Zealand back to the Pacific. The mouth of the Anaweka River, where the waka was discovered, supported many settlements.

The area had an abundance of food resources, with middens from a site near the mouth of the Whakapoāi ( Heaphy River ) showing evidence of local Māori hunting bush moa, kekeno, and kurī. Excavation of the same site also demonstrated connections to trade routes running throughout New Zealand, with pounamu from the Arahura region and obsidian from Mayor Island / Tūhua in the Bay of Plenty both being used in the area. Māori interaction with the inland areas of the region was generally less common. Outside of frequently used trade routes connecting the top of the South Island to the West Coast, this was typically limited to seasonal hunting expeditions rather than the more permanent habitation along the coast.

For much of the region's history, Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri were mana whenua (held authority in) the region, having arrived in the early 1600s from the western North Island by way of the Marlborough Sounds and successfully displaced local Māori. This dominance of the region lasted for roughly 200 years, until other iwi began to encroach on the area in the early 1800s. Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri eventually succumbed to invasions by Ngāti Apa from the Kāpiti Coast to the northeast, Ngāti Kuia from the east, and Ngāi Tahu from the south, losing a decisive battle to the latter near Whanganui Inlet. Mana whenua status in the area was contested for much of the early 19th century, eventually settling with Te Atiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui, Ngāti Rārua and Ngāti Tama having authority in the Tasman region and Ngāi Tahu controlling from Kahurangi Point south.

Early Europeans to visit the area were sealers. The seal colonies along the Kahurangi coast were almost exterminated within two decades. The establishment of the New Zealand Company ’s settlement at Nelson in 1841 led to exploitation of timber, flax and coal resources in the region.

One of the early European settlers to discover the Tableland in the Mount Arthur area was Thomas Salisbury. He wrote to The Colonist in 1863, claiming to have discovered gold in stream beds on the Tableland, and this led to a gold rush to the area. His brother John grazed sheep in the area from 1875.

The special character of flora and fauna in the region was recognised prior to 1920. One particular example is the Gouland Downs, an area with unusual geology and vegetation, situated at around 600 m (2,000 ft) elevation to the west of Mt Perry. The Gouland Downs was one of eleven sanctuaries designated by the Department of Internal Affairs in the year ending 31 March 1916. In 1918, the Department of Lands and Survey reported that 16,000 acres (6,500 ha) of Crown land, including the Gouland Downs, had been reserved under the Scenery Preservation Act 1903. The protected area was reported to be rare and valuable, and included the habitat of kākāpō, kiwi, weka, and other native birds.

In 1970, approximately 360,000 ha (890,000 acres) of land were gazetted as the North-west Nelson Forest Park as part of the amalgamation of eight forest parks in the region, under the management of the New Zealand Forest Service. At the time, many of the tracks in the park were overgrown. The Forest Service started on a programme of work to promote recreation in the park, including cutting new tracks and building huts.

An environmental lobby group, the Maruia Society, advocated for the establishment of a new national park in the area from the 1980s. In 1987, the management of the North West Nelson Forest Park was transferred to the newly formed Department of Conservation. The following year, an area of 86,946 ha (214,850 acres) within the Forest Park was designated as the Tasman Wilderness Area under the National Parks Act 1980 section 14, as an important step towards the formation of a new national park.

Although the area does not have the iconic geographic features of previously established New Zealand national parks, at the time of its creation there was increasing interest in protecting biodiversity and geodiversity. Creation of a new national park was recommended by the Conservation Authority in 1993, but the Kahurangi National Park was not established until 1996. The new park was based largely on the area that had previously been the North West Nelson Forest Park, along with the Tasman Wilderness Area.

After initial consultation, about 60 areas were excluded from the national park for a variety of reasons. The idea of a national park locking up land was controversial with West Coast constituents, and 120,000 ha (300,000 acres) were taken out in the south-west corner; this included the Buller Coalfields. Mining interests successfully lobbied to have the areas around Sams Creek (gold) and Mount Burnett ( dolomite ) excluded. The Aorere Goldfields Reserve inland from Parapara and Collingwood, covering the area where a gold rush happened starting in 1857, was excluded for its mineral potential. The Electricity Corporation had hydro operations excluded from the park, for example the Cobb Reservoir, the Cobb Power Station, and the associated penstock. Similarly, the Onekaka Dam was also carved out of the park, with the power station resurrected after the national park came into existence. Many grazing leases and sphagnum moss gathering sites were also excluded. Farewell Spit was excluded because it was felt that it was already well protected, and the area was not contiguous with the rest of the national park. An area known as Taitapu, south of Whanganui Inlet, was excluded over an unresolved Treaty of Waitangi claim.

At the time of approval, the new national park was the 13th national park to be established in New Zealand, and protected 452,000 ha (1,120,000 acres) of land. In his announcement about the establishment of the park, the Minister of Conservation, Denis Marshall said: "It consists of extensive areas of native forest and limestone and marble landscape which has international significance".

For the official opening, a ministerial party led by the prime minister, Jim Bolger, Denis Marshall, and Nick Smith (MP for the Tasman electorate ) tramped along the Mt Arthur Tableland to stay in Balloon Hut, south of the Cobb Reservoir. From there, they walked out to the Cobb Dam for the official opening.

Five small parcels consisting of unmodified coastal areas and forest with high conservation values totalling 900 ha (2,200 acres) were added to the park in 2016.

In 2007, Kahurangi National Park was added to the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, along with Farewell Spit and the Canaan karst system.

The Mōkihinui River is a river on the West Coast about 40 kilometres north of Westport. The river catchment area is a largely unmodified landscape of open tussock, podocarp-beech forests, and the pristine river itself. The area was highly rated for its biodiversity values, but prior to 2019, it was classified as stewardship land − the lowest level of protection for publicly-owned conservation land. In 2007, Meridian Energy had proposed to build the Mokihinui Hydro project on the river. The project was controversial and in May 2012 it was cancelled.

In 2019, 64,400 ha (159,000 acres) of land in the Mōkihinui River catchment, including 15 km (9.3 mi) of river bed, were added to Kahurangi National Park. The addition increased the size of the park by 14%. The area added to the park includes part of the route of the Old Ghost Road, a 85-kilometre (53 mi) mountain biking and hiking trail that follows a historic gold miners' route.

The significance of the Mokihinui region to the Ngāi Tahu iwi and Ngāti Waewae, the rūnanga for the area, was marked with the placement of a pouwhenua in July 2019.

There is archaeological evidence that Māori had settled the Kahurangi coastline from around 1380 CE, with pā sites on coastal ridges and evidence of more substantial habitation found around several of the river mouths and estuaries in the area.