This summer I went on several Mahi Aroha summer tours, hoping to experience a new short walk and to find a bit of culture. Along the way I found some living treasures, volunteers who are experts at the things they love and give up their time to engage with the
Department of Conservation Central Plateau Mahi Aroha summer 2022
View of Lake Taupō from the top of Mt Tihia. Photo / Rachel Canning
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There is just one small problem he would say: finding the starting point is tricky. As is finding the last part of the track if you want to do a circuit instead of a there-and-back.
This was enough to put me off, imagine driving all the way there (one hour from Taupō) and not even being able to start, or what about getting lost in the bush on the way down?
Fast forward a few years and the Mahi Aroha summer programme includes Mt Tihi, along with many other cool trips and activities.
Running for 57 years, this year the Mahi Aroha programme is hosted by the Department of Conservation (DoC) and community group Project Tongariro.
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On my trip, there were a good number of DoC staff who were on their day off, and Project Tongariro volunteers who came along in support. I was super-impressed. Where else in New Zealand would you find 10 or so people coming into work on their day off?
Project Tongariro conservation volunteer Shirley Potter was our trip leader and every 15 minutes or so we stopped for plant or bird identification, and predator trapping information. I saw my first koekoeā long-tailed cuckoo, heard a kaka, and identified the call of a toutouwai North Island robin.
It was only 45 minutes from the road to the summit, on a track that is in good condition. At one point we climb above the tree line and bush bash our way through head-high shrubs until we climbed above the shrubs and onto a tussock plateau. We wandered through the plateau for a bit, with many photo opportunities and lunch.
As Brent said, the return loop track was a bit tricky, so we went back the way we came up.
Te Pōrere Redoubt
Location: State Highway 47, Tūrangi.
Hours: Business hours.
Cost: Free.
The site of one of the last Māori land wars and where the rebel Te Kooti escaped the armed constabulary for good, is sited just before the turn-off to Whakapapa Ski Area.
Ski fever means I am never going to stop at this category one historic site on the way to the mountain, and after a day on the slopes we all just want to get home.
That is my excuse for not having visited Te Pōrere Redoubt in the past 35 years or so. I did visit in the 1980s with my parents when I was about 10. However, I remember the trip lacking colour, as, without the cultural context, the battle site was a small hill with some trenches.
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With Ngāti Hikairo mana whenua and historian Mat Howell as trip leader, the battle was roaring in my ears. As was the despair of the rebels (including many Ngāti Hikairo who joined Te Kooti) who died in the trenches, and the charisma and sheer ambition of Te Kooti to have constructed the redoubt in the first place.
Mat can trace his tīpuna ancestors back 25 generations to the year 1300 AD and he paints a vivid picture of life and tactical warfare in 1869.
If I was to vote for living treasures at this time, it would be Mat and Shirley. Mat for his dedication to history - "every time a kaumātua dies another library burns down" - and Shirley for her countless volunteer hours getting rid of plant and animal pests. What makes these two particularly special is their willingness to share their knowledge in a highly entertaining way.
