Once it provided a home to birds, eels and plants to live on as well as rongoā and wood for the iwi who lived there.
Between 1927 and 1987, much of its prized timber was clear-felled and milled at one of the 13 known sawmills in the Whirinaki Valley. That the milling halted, and the park exists for us to enjoy, owes much to the green movement of the 1980s.
Many battled politically to save the Gondwanaland forest and in 1984 it achieved forest park status.
We started out on the benched track towards Vern’s Clearing. The trail is flat, easy, and very well-marked.
Tall tree ferns and tawa sheltered under the massive trees. Some are 65 metres high and many such as tōtara, miro, rimu, mataī and kahikatea are podocarps, meaning they have a seed with a foot usually formed in a cone which eventually sifts out of them.
We were soon at Te Whaiti nui a toi Canyon. Time to look down, rather than up, and be impressed.
The Whirinaki River is forced in a great torrent through a narrow ignimbrite gorge formed after a volcanic eruption.
A New Zealander, Patrick Marshall, is credited with amalgamating ‘ignis’, referring to fire, and ‘imbris’, meaning storm, into the term ignimbrite.
On we continued, admiring woody pore fungi, some as big as dinner plates, and orangey, gold fungi displaying themselves in rows like the scales of a dinosaur. Tree trunks, dead and living, were festooned with mosses and ferns.
We hopscotched on protruding rocks and roots over puddles and muddy sections, trying to keep our boots dry, and dodged supplejack hanging precariously across the track waiting to snare the unwary walker.
The river is fast flowing with small rapids which is an ideal habitat for whio. We were excited to see a pair sunning themselves on the rocks and hear the distinctive ‘whio’ whistle of the male.
These ducks are monogamous and breeding pairs are fiercely territorial. They usually dine on invertebrates and their fleshy lips allow them to brush them from the rocks.
Whio are a protected species and classified as nationally vulnerable, so the fact the park has 64 pairs is a great tribute to Whio Forever, Genesis Energy and ongoing pest control.
Ten of the traps we saw along the trail had dead rats in them, but none of the birds’ worse predators, stoats.
Perhaps we were too noisy to hear other bird calls, but some heard whiteheads or pōpokatea and we saw a toutouwai.
The bivvy at Vern’s clearing, an old track cutters camp, was a welcome sight. A strong, large structure with a fireplace and even running water.
After a short break, we turned back - this time, taking notice of a bank of luminescent kidney ferns and scanning the water for the elusive trout seen earlier by some.
We detoured to admire the Whirinaki Waterfall and went off-piste to peer over the bank of the Te Whaiti nui a toi Canyon. What a view.
Tall columns of smooth-fluted rocks dressed in moss. The low light gave the canyon a magical appearance.
All too soon we had to leave and return to the vans having walked a little over 17kilometres. Not only a fine day, but a very fine walk and an experience we can well recommend.
Next week we will probably be getting our feet wet.
If you would like to join us, or for more information, please email walkersmondaytaupo@gmail.com or follow us on Facebook at “Taupo Monday Walkers”.
Stay up to date with the Waikato Herald
Get the latest Waikato headlines straight to your inbox Monday to Saturday. Register for free today - click here and choose Local News.
