Photo of map showing circuit taken: Christine Whiteford
On Wednesday 18 May, a group from the Tararua Tramping Club undertook a walk, circumnavigating Tawa using the various reserves. The sunny weather enabled the group to enjoy the great views as well as the vibrant flora and fauna.
Leader John Allard, a resident of Tawa for over 30 years, had the concept in mind for a while and carried out some exploratory walks to establish the links to create a five-to-six hour circular walk of 13.3km.
The group started at the Bucket Tree, crossed Willowbank Reserve to near the State Highway interchange linking to Takapu Road. Woodburn Reserve was reached via the connection at 68 – 78 Bing Lucas Drive with the group enjoying the regenerating bush before emerging near the top of Bing Lucas and dropping down into Wilf Mexted Reserve.
Descent through Te Ngahere-o-Tawa/Forest of Tawa through the recently well-developed track to Kiwi Crescent was appreciated, as well as the increasing volume from the birds. Larsen Reserve provided the link to Redwood Bush with an even more obvious bird presence. Finally, the group crossed St Annes Reserve and down Sunrise Boulevard back to the Bucket Tree.
Members of the group were impressed with the mature trees, noting especially the abundant flowering of kohekohe. Various urban parks and roads led down to the valley bottom and up again to pass through the Spicer Forest Scenic Reserve and on to Broken Hill Road.
Comments after the walk included:
Thank you for an interesting trip.
I know little about Tawa and I was impressed with the bush and bird life, the interesting views, the varied terrain, real treats of trees and the outstanding birdsong during the afternoon.
John is planning to repeat the walk every couple of years, hoping that the distance on roads can be reduced with more tracks accessible through the reserves.
Thanks to John Allard, Jim Gibbons and Christine Whiteford for the article and the photos. This post produced from newsletter article as edited by Gil Roper FOTBR Newsletter June 2022
Read more about the Tararua Tramping Club on their website here
Friends of Tawa Bush Reserves 