Akatarawa Forest
The Akatarawa Forest is a forest in the Greater Wellington region of the North Island of New Zealand .
geography
The Akatarawa Forest is located between the towns of Upper Hutt , which borders the forest in the south and Paraparaumu in the north of the forest and on the coast to the Tasman Sea . The forest has a size of around 14,000 to 15,000 hectares. The highest elevation of the forest is the Kakanui at 1529 m on the north-eastern edge of the forest.
Origin of name
The Māori name of the forest, Akatarawa , translated into English means trailing vines , which means something like "climbing climbing plants". The Māori used the forest for hunting and for supplying food. They also crossed the forest to get from the coast to the Hutt Valley and vice versa.
history
Until the arrival of the Europeans in New Zealand, the forest existed in its original form without much influence from the indigenous people, the Māori . The animals brought with them by the Europeans and were alien to New Zealand, the fauna of the Akatarawa Forest was also considerably disturbed. In addition, there was clearing and the clearing of parts of the forest, in particular the use of the Rimu . Between 1900 and 1920, many people made their living in sawmills in the forest area. They lived in small huts and settled in the forest. In 1911 the Karapoti Road was built in the southern part of the forest. The precious woods such as Rimu , Mataī , Totara , Kahikatea and Miro were transported to Upper Hutt on the same train . Even today, discarded machines off the beaten track are evidence of this time.
The forest underwent further changes through the planting of exotic conifers , such as the Douglas fir , various cypress species and arborvitae between 1930 and 1957.
Todays use
The Akatarawa Forest is the only forest in the region, which is open for motorized vehicles. Drivers of all-wheel drive vehicles and enduro motorcycles can pursue their leisure time on the numerous forest and old transport routes, and public events support this sport. The army and police also use the forest for training.
The forest is also available for mountain bikers, for riding and for hunting. Furthermore, forestry is carried out and the population is given the opportunity to obtain wood for house heating according to a strictly regulated plan. With so many uses, it is hard to believe that the forest still offers space for hikers and rangers.
Web links
- Akatarawa Forest . Greater Wellington,accessed October 12, 2014.
- Map - Akatarawa Forest . (PDF (635 kB))Greater Wellington,accessed on October 12, 2014(English).
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Akatarawa Forest - History . Greater Wellington , accessed October 12, 2014 .
- ↑ Wellington . 13th edition. Kiwimaps , Christchurch 2009, ISBN 978-1-877358-75-3 , pp. 111 (English).
- ↑ Akatarawa Forest - Events . Greater Wellington , accessed October 12, 2014 .
- ↑ Akatarawa Forest . Greater Wellington , accessed October 12, 2014 .