Akatarawa Forest

Covering 15,000 hectares of wilderness area between Upper Hutt and the Kapiti Coast, the Akatarawa Forest is a rugged blend of native and exotic forest. Mountain, quad and trail bikers find a variety of gentle and challenging routes along the tracks and old logging roads. Also popular for horse riding, fishing, hunting and tramping, the Akatarawa Forest provides enjoyable and testing terrain for 4WD-vehicle club trips.

Past logging from large areas of the Akatarawa Forest has left a mosaic of forest, bush and shrublands, which provides for a diverse bird and insect life. Some 1,000ha of original lowland podocarp forest and 500ha of red/beech/miro/rimu forest still remains in parts of the Akatarawa Forest. In addition, small but significant stands of the original montane totara/kamahi and miro/kamahi forest remain on high ridges around Mounts Maunganui, Wainui, Titi and Barton.

The forest also includes approximately 3,000ha of exotic species, mainly mixed age pine and macrocarpa forest, which are part of Greater Wellington's plantation forests. There are several wetlands in the Akatarawa and Whakatikei river catchments. The ecological values are regionally important and include representative examples of original montane and lowland forest associations, including rare ferns and a rich bird life. All of the region's surviving indigenous bird species are found here, including long tailed cuckoos, tui, whitehead, and New Zealand falcon.