For when nature calls

The Raukūmara Pae Maunga team preparing the four wharepaku for flight at Maungaroa Station.All pictures supplied

Raukūmara Pae Maunga, the kaupapa working to restore the Raukūmara Ranges to how they were before pests, have been installing infrastructure within the bush to help with the mahi.

They are working on Te Ara Tīpuna, a 500km heritage trail being developed to stretch through Te Tairāwhiti from Gisborne to Ōpōtiki, following the coast and dipping inland to connect  22 communities and 64 marae.

Te Ara Tīpuna means the path of our ancestors.

Wiremu Wharepapa, Raukūmara Pae Maunga project pou, said Te Ara Tīpuna had a lot of history.

“It is what connects our people to the footsteps of our ancestors, said Wiremu Wharepapa.

“Through its shared whakapapa it’s what binds Te Whānau-ā-Apanui and Ngāti Porou together,” he said.

Infrastructure that has been installed are four wharepaku (toilets) .

“There can be anywhere from 30 or more people at a time who use this trail. So ensuring we have a system in place moving forward which is respectful to our ngahere is imperative,” said Wiremu.

“We are focused on the health and safety of our people first and foremost. This recent mission was focused around installing four wharepaku along Te Ara Tīpuna, which is the pathway our ancestors once used, I guess you could say, as their ‘highway 35’.

“This ara (pathway) was one of our ancestors’ main means of kai. It fed our people and sustained generations before our time.

“However, this means of kai was different to what is collected in our time. It was indigenous;  it was tawa berries, kererū, pikopiko, hakeke, tuna, kareao — the list could go on and on,” Wiremu said.

The environment of Te Ara Tīpuna could be called beautiful, but the impact of pests and climate change was easy to see, Wiremu said.

“It’s mountainous and wild; it stretches as far as the eye can see. You’ll find many rākau (trees), pristine waterways and a spiritual essence, that’s mauri (life-force).”

However, these aren’t the only words used to describe this sacred ara.

Introduced pests and climate change have created a challenging environment for Te Ara Tīpuna.

“We are faced with an increase of dying rākau, numerous slips entering our awa, loose landscapes and changes to weather patterns and temperatures.

“All of these things contribute to the stability of our taonga species, our land, the soil beneath our feet and the purity of our water and the air itself,” he said.