Hunua Ranges

The Hunua Ranges frame the region's southeastern skyline and make up Auckland's largest forested landscape. More than 14,000 hectares of native forest filters about 2300mm of rain annually into four dams, which supply most of Auckland's water.
The park itself features tramping tracks, mountain biking, amazing scenery, fishing, swimming pools and waterfalls. The Hunua Ranges are also home to Auckland's only mainland population of one of its rarest bird - the kokako, and a refuge for the native Hochstetter's frog (pepeke).

While parts of the Hunua Ranges are accessible to experienced trampers only, two key areas provide plenty of tracks, views and activities suitable for families. The first of these is in the west of the ranges and includes the popular Hunua Falls and Wairoa Reservoir. The other takes in the south and central part of the ranges around the Mangatangi and Mangatawhiri reservoirs.

• Hunua Falls

History

Maori used the hills and forests of the Hunua Ranges primarily as a source of food and timber, and as a refuge rather than for permanent residence.

The contempory name for the Hunua Ranges comes from the NW foothills near Ardmore Filter Station known as Te Hunua (hunua means 'high lying sterile lands'). The traditional name for the ranges is Te Ngaherehere o Kohukohunui (The Expansive Forests of Kohukohunui) after the highest peak, Kohukohunui. Rugged terrain, poor soils and difficult access meant this land was the last in the Auckland region to be settled by Europeans.

From around 1870 parts of the forest were cleared for farming and for timber, but farming was always a marginal activity here. However, the Hunua Falls have been a popular attraction for Aucklanders since Victorian times, when they were known as the "Wairoa Falls" and visitors travelled by steamer to Clevedon and took day trips to the falls. Two manganese mines have operated in the Hunua Ranges. During World War II, ore from a mine in the Moumoukai Valley was transported from the hilltop via a flying fox to a railway on the valley floor. But water was to be the main resource taken from the Hunua Ranges.

The four water supply dams there include the Mangatangi Reservoir, which is New Zealand's largest water supply dam and second largest earth dam. The extensive 169-hectare lake holds 37 million cubic metres of water and has an average daily yield of 101,100 cubic metres.

The Auckland City Council had begun purchasing land in the Hunua Ranges for water supply purposes in the 1940s, acquiring almost all of the ranges by 1960. In 1965 the agency that was to become the ARC took over metropolitan water supply and management of the water catchment areas. The land was transferred to the restructured and renamed Auckland Regional Council for park purposes in 1992. About a third of the land is planted pine trees. A commercial forestry company leases this area from the ARC and access is restricted for safety reasons.

Read the PDFs below to find out more about the history of the Hunua Ranges

Wildlife

About 80 species of land snail have been recorded in the Hunua ranges. Koura (freshwater crayfish) occurs relatively commonly in the waterways of the ranges.

A high diversity of fish species has been found in the Mangatawhiri River. One of New Zealand's four native frogs, Hochstetter's frog, occurs in the Hunua Ranges. The Hunua Ranges currently support the widest range of native forest birds in the Auckland region. These species include native pigeon, kaka, kakariki, shining cuckoo, morepork, kingfisher, grey warbler, fantail, tomtit, silvereye, bellbird, tui and kokako. Forest geckos are also known to occur here.

Native Bush

The ranges have the largest tract of indigenous forest on the mainland in the Auckland region and contain an almost intact succession from coastal to submontane vegetation. The Hunua ecological district contains 20% of all NZ's indigenous species including over half of the ferns and fern allies. The ranges are also home to more than 600 species of fungi.

The Hunua Ranges are also an important sanctuary for kauri in the Auckland region. Kauri dieback disease is killing kauri trees in many areas of Auckland but so far the kauri in the Hunua Ranges remain healthy. Help us keep it this way. Please:

• Make sure your shoes and equipment are clean of dirt before every visit to the Hunua Ranges
• Keep to the tracks and stay away from kauri tree roots
• Use the cleaning stations on park

More information on kauri dieback