Rewanui Forest Park Walks
Rewanui is a 334ha property, 23km east of Masterton on the Castlepoint road. It has areas of native bush, open grassland and sites suitable for growing both native and exotic trees. The Foundation is developing the the property as a forest park and a trial site for native and exotic timber trees.
How to get there
Take the Castlepoint road East out of Masterton for 22km. Look for the Rewanui Forest Park sign, the car park is 400m beyond it.
The Rewanui Forest Park
This is the Rewanui Forest Park car parking area. Maps of the tracks are available in the shelter.
People of all walking abilities can find tracks suited to them but the park is not suited to wheeled traffic like baby buggies.
The Tracks (view galleries here)
There are four walking tracks in the Rewanui Forest Park that are open to all. The loops through the Richardson bush are designed to visit as many of the big trees as possible while the Mt Clyde track gives good views of the surrounding countryside. All the times given on the signs are very conservative and allow for plenty of pauses etc.
- The Totara loop is marked red and will take about 1hr to complete from the car park, it is all easy grades but the surface is rough in places. There are some very old Totara, Hinau, and Rewarewa trees to be seen along the track.
- The Matai loop is marked in yellow and will take about 1hr 45min to walk. It is quite steep to negotiate and requires a moderate level of agility. As the name indicates there are some very good old Matai trees to be seen on this track. There is a grove of Matais a short distance from the junction with the Totara loop that is easy to visit without tackling the steeper sections of the track. Due to snow damage in august 2011 the western part of the loop is currently blocked with debris however a loop walk is still available by using the Kowhai track to the Mt Clyde valley.
- The Kowhai track links the the Matai loop with the Mt Clyde valley.
- The Mt Clyde Trig is accessible via the blue route, this is mostly old farm tracks in open grassland and will take about 2 hours return journey. Spectacular views of the Wairarapa are to be seen from stages along the track and of course from the trig. The trig has an elevation of 500m and the carpark about 200m so it involves a 300m climb.
Most tracks are marked with white stakes and markers as shown
A triangular marker indicates a direction to follow while a leaf shaped marker means keep going in the same general direction. The tracks are all accessed from the carpark at the woolshed by crossing the paddock to the west and then following the stream to the foot of the Mt Clyde Valley. Follow the green markers to the start of the tracks. We are currently in the process of upgrading the track markers by using white fibre glass poles at intervals along the tracks.
Galleries of sites to be seen on the tracks
You can view galleries of the Rewanui Forest Park Tracks here.
Onga Onga (Urtica ferox)
Rewanui has extensive areas of naitive bush that has been been subjected to various degrees of grazing over the years. The Foundation intends to preserve and enhance the remaining areas for the enjoyement of everyone. Unfortunately there are extensive areas of Onga Onga in and around the bush making it dangerous for people who are unaware of the extreme toxicity of this plant.
Timber Varieties
One of the magnificent old trees to be seen in the park. This Totara is on the Totara Loop and is one of several to be seen.
A grove of the Rewarewa trees that give Rewanui its name. Rewarewa timber has a very attractive appearance and is often used for decorative woodwork but it is also very strong and was used by the early settlers for mine props and logging tramway rails.
View of the hallway in the homestead showing the extensive use of rimu inside the house.
View of the lounge in the homestead showing the extensive use of rimu inside the house.
