New Zealand Walk: Huatoki Domain - for a delightful walk
Tucked away in a suburb of New Plymouth is a very satisfying and great walk through a delightful native forest and in parts beside a picturesque stream.
This delightful walk is in the suburb of Vogeltown and is well worth a visit.
The Huatoki Domain was initially a section of The Green Belt zone of the local community and came into its own in about 1929.
The reason for this name Huatoki however is a complicated factor not really understood. A possible answer is the fact that local Maori used the Huatoki Stream to gain vital rocks strong enough to construct essential adezos prior to European settlement.
The name Hua meaning a large abundance, and Toki meaning adezo axe or maybe shell.
The 20 acres of the Huatoki Domain was originally outside the regions of control of the then New Plymouth Borough Council and was used as a recreational area for locals. It is now operated by The New Plymouth District Council and is essentially divided into two parts under the reserve act in 1977. The Domain and Tupari. Tupari contains a beautiful tawa forest.
In the domain there was a swimming pool, a pavilion, tennis courts and a small camping ground now all gone apart from the tennis courts which are still in use.
There is a concrete weir in the domain built in 1929 now called a dam by the locals. It is still in operation and has a bridge over it with a track that leads to a part of the suburban area. The weir later had a bypass added to allow native fish access to the upper reaches of the stream. The Huatoki Stream runs all the way to the sea in the city flowing from the lower area of the Mt Taranaki ranges and in heavy rain can become a torrent.
All that remains of this reserve now is an array of magnificent bush, green areas for picnicking, accompa
nied by the sound of the stream and a variety of bird song.
The entrance to the domain starts at the side of the tennis club grounds leading to a car park directly behind the club. You can park your car there. There is a wooden bollard fence with an opening that leads to a track directly behind the bollard. Turn sharp right and follow the narrow track down the hill and past some wooden steps on the left that come down onto the track you are on. Following the track will take you into the start of the bush where the walk begins. Ahead you will come to a fork in the track with an orange signpost stating Johns Walk loop Track and Huatoki Walkway followed by arrows.
Take the Johns left track that gives you a walk alongside the stream. The loop track further along joins up with the track you are on. Do not divert from this track but keep following it along the river where you will come to some stairs leading up onto a street (part of Huatoki Street) A sign on your left states Tupari Reserve with an arrow pointing ahead.
TUPARI RESERVE. Sawpits in the reserve were probably constructed in the late nineteenth or twentieth century to provide timber for New Plymouth and surrounding farms. They were located away from the tracks primarily on the flat high ground near the western edge of the reserve. Most of the original bush cover has been converted into farms or housing but there is plenty left to make a pleasant walk.
You will see a white bridge and beyond that the entrance to a road with a locked gate leading to an uphill road. On either side of the gate are two tracks one leading left and one leading right. Take the left track which has attractive changing scenery, this takes you around the complete loop and eventually back to the car park.
This track leads uphill for quite a way, do not divert to any side tracks until you come across a wide track further over the top and on the right hand side which leads downhill to a private road. When you reach the road turn left and you should be by the gates that lead to the pony club grounds. There is usually a horse float parked there.
Cross the road and to the right look for a small opening and a path in the bush by the gates. This track will take you back to the domain. The scenery is different from the first part of the walk as there is a dell of attractive nikau palms.
The track is sometimes muddy
depending on the weather and quite rough and narrow in parts with protruding tree roots and debri. Not as well trodden as the first half but attractive in its own way. There are several small foot bridges to cross. The track is quite winding. You will eventually come to a fork in the track where there is an old wooden sign stating City Centre 70 minutes and Huatoki Domain stating 15 minutes. This will take you back to the road and the white bridge. Cross the bridge and back down the stairs you came up on and follow the river track back to the end to where you will see a set of stairs leading up a bank. This track will take you back to the domain. If you take the road that leads down into the domain from behind the car park you can view the weir/dam on the river at the end of your walk.
The walk around the domain track takes about an hour but longer if you have trouble finding the tracks. At the time of writing this the signage was very inadequate, in fact non existent in parts. Hopefully in the near future it will be improved as the council are making up new ones. This walk is quite challenging in parts, and requires steady footing.
The Huatoki walk extends from the Domain into the city of New Plymouth but is tricky to find in parts as it emerges onto several streets and the signage is also woefully inadequate. Helpful to ask a local if you wish to stroll to the city.
The entrance from the domain to start this walk is in Camden Street off Huatoki Street. This would take probably an hour and a half if you are not familiar with the crossing back and forward onto several streets taking into account that you would still have to return to your car adding that time again.
To get to the Huatoki Domain parking area the entrance is opposite 128 Huatoki St. The parking area is behind the tennis club. There are no toilets and the walk is dog friendly.