GO NZ: Autumn
Close to Nelson city but feeling a world away,
Brook Sanctuary is a place to immerse yourself in native bush. Visitors choose a self-guided walk through the greenery or take a guide to learn its history. Either way, the 45-minute loop track, past waterfalls and wildlife, is suitable for all ages and abilities, including prams and wheelchairs.
For an accessible taste of Aotearoa’s newest Great Walk, the Paparoa Track, there are two short walks (1.5 or three hours) on Pororari River Track, the entry/exit for the multi-day hike. Literally dripping with nı¯kau, these rainforest walks start near the national park’s visitor centre and Pancake Rocks, following an easy trail along beside the river gorge and cliffs, deep pools surrounded by massive boulders, a spectacular lookout and suspension bridge.
Mt Fyffe and the Seaward Kaiko¯ ura Range dominate Kaiko¯ ura’s skyline with tracks ranging from family stroll to full-on back-country journey. The 1600m peak is for serious hikers; our family suggestion is Hı¯nau Track ,a 45-minute loop through an unusual forest with large hı¯nau trees as well as ma¯ hoe, putaputawe¯ ta¯ , broadleaf, tree fuchsia and pigeonwood. Wellformed, suitable for families.
The Forest Amble Walk in Hanmer Springs Heritage Forest is a short walk for kids, with a range of large wooden art sculptures — a BFG, orangutan, tuatara, falcon, dog and more — hiding in bush along the way.
It’s not quite climbing Aoraki Mt Cook but kids will be well pleased with conquering the
Governors Bush Track at Mt Cook Village. The 1.5km, 45-minute walk is a good place to run around in beech forest where fantail and kea are common. Babies and smaller toddlers may need to be carried in a backpack.
Near Wa¯ naka, it’s only a short walk from the highway to the Blue Pools at Makarora, an easy tramp through beech forest. The 1.5km, 30-minute tramp (bonus swing bridges) rewards with a view of the crystal-clear pools and their residents, large brown and rainbow trout.
Queenstown’s jagged mountains, wild rivers, waterfalls and lakes, many set in native beech forest, make it a tramping nirvana. For a shorter excursion try the 3km, 90-minute Bobs Cove Track and Nature Walk. From the Glenorchyqueenstown Road, stroll through beech and ma¯ nuka to a secluded cove on Lake Whakatipu, listening for bellbird, tu¯ ı¯ and kereru¯ on the first, easy part of the walk; later you can choose to take a short, steep climb on a rocky track for spectacular views. Or not.
There’s only one forest in Central Otago — Naseby’s Black Forest — but it has worth-visiting trails along the Hawkdun Range and tracks weaving through sluiced-out areas from the gold-mining era.
Trees aren’t the only amazing sights in our forests. In Dunedin’s Mt Cargill Scenic Reserve, the Organ Pipes rise out of the bush — tall, geometric pillars formed from a volcanic eruption. It’s a short drive from the city centre to the reserve and a 2km, 60-minute one-way hike through podocarp forest to that ’Gram moment. You’ll need to be reasonably active as the track is steep and challenging, and weather can be changeable.
Key Summit on the Routeburn Track is one of Fiordland’s best day walks for all ages — “I walked this last week with my 7-year-old son, 4-year-old daughter and 72-year-old mother,” a local tells us. It’s a nice, wide, even track with waterfalls and lush rainforest. When you approach the bushline, mountain flax, snow to¯ tara and alpine species join the mix before you enter a world of alpine bogs and tarns plus 360-degree panoramas.
Forest Hill Scenic Reserve, 20 minutes north of Invercargill, protects a valuable remnant of native forest surrounded by agricultural land. The unique forest represents the bush once found on limestone outcrops throughout the Southland Plains. To¯ tara, mataı¯, rimu and kahikatea rise above a canopy of hardwood trees, home for large numbers of birds and
dramatic rock formations.
SLEEPING
Sleeping among the trees doesn’t have to mean a crick in your back or a branch in your backside. Here are some forest accommodations you won’t want to, ah, leave. On a ridge overlooking the kauri forest, Waipoua Lodge offers luxury accommodation in an original kauri homestead. As well as award-winning hospitality in its four suites, it’s a place to experience the forest, hear the birds, surrounded by 3000-year-old trees and enhanced with a century of pioneering and logging history. Inside the West Auckland rainforest, only 30 minutes from Downtown Auckland, is Waitakere Resort & Spa (previously Waitakere Estate). Built by retired airline pilot Captain Joseph Nevill-jackson, the boutique hotel has remained in family hands for more than 80 years. These days, as well as the hotel, apartments and villa, you’ll find a restaurant, day spa, wellness retreat, conference centre, wedding venue, views to the Hauraki Gulf — and a whole lot of serenity.
Wairua Lodge rainforest and river retreat is a large, forested property just south of Whitianga, where the owners are committed to preserving biodiversity and reducing their ecological footprint. The Coromandel haven boasts four rooms and a Kiwi apartment, forest walk, outdoor bath, trickling stream and forest trails — and, in the evening, a firepit where guests mingle and listen to the forest reawakening.
Rimu Heights is a new property on the Maungatautari bushline, overlooking the vista from the Waikato Plains to the Kaimai Ranges. Its Tawa Tent is an off-grid, eco-living, glamping experience, set in a natural clearing surrounded by tawa, ponga and ferns, home to many native species which can be constantly heard, seen and felt.
Just outside Rotorua, Treetops Lodge shares its secluded 1012ha estate with trees, plants and myriad animals. Much of the facility was built using the property’s deadwood — logs milled onsite — and 70,000 more trees were planted to protect the ecosystem. There are 12 guest rooms and eight villas, on-estate activities including kayaking, archery, mountain biking, fishing, horse riding, more than 70km of walking tracks, a forest spa and wild food experiences.
Puketui Forest Escape is another luxury property hidden in a private native forest 12 minutes from both Taupo¯ and Kinloch. The environmentally conscious, luxuriously appointed couples’ escape is fully off-grid: guests stay in handcrafted adjoining pod houses — one for sleeping, the other for relaxing.
Eastwoodhill has a variety of accommodation for those who want to stay inside the arboretum near Gisborne, enjoying the trees, perhaps creating an environment for art and craft groups or for friends to spend quality time. Rooms are tidy and have access to common bathroom amenities, kitchen, living spaces and laundry. Tip: you’ll have to BYO supplies or ask management to get them in.
The nearest food store is 30km away.
Amid Hawke’s Bay’s vines and orchards, Meadowood House boutique hotel has added “Glamping in the Trees” — dome tents located in a secluded setting among mature trees and twittering birdlife. There are flushing toilets and a shower in the trees, or his and hers baths under the stars, the BYO or honesty Speakeasy Bar with games, books and a large projector screen. Two of the tents, appropriately tagged Syrah and Merlot, sleep three; Chardonnay and Pinot Gris sleep two.
At the halfway point of the Timber Trail, deep in the Central North Island, the Timber Trail Lodge is set in the middle of the renowned Pureora Forest conservation park with its huge podocarp trees and rare birds. The five-year-old lodge is completely off-grid and offers a relaxing atmosphere, bar and meals, cycle shuttles and support.
Right on the edge of Mt Taranaki National Park are Pouakai Cabins, 20 minutes from New Plymouth at the base of the Pouakai Ranges. The private bush cabin is five minutes walk through native bush, an adults-only retreat built from recycled and environmentally friendly products and running on solar power. All windows look to the surrounding bush — including the bathroom. No worries, you’ll only be sharing the space with kereru¯ and tu¯ ı¯.
Pohangina Valley in Manawatu¯ is one of the country’s better-kept secrets. More than unique forests full of birdlife, its rivers are actually swimmable. Some 450m above sea level, Pohangina Heights Resort is set on an old family farm, its gardens created around views and dreamy sunsets next to Doc’s Pohangina Track in the Ruahine Forest Park.
There are two self-contained cottages for couples — Hilliard’s and The Musterer’s, which was built around 1910 and is themed with oldfashioned games, Kiwi books and memorabilia.
Marlborough’s On The Track Lodge is halfway along the two-day Nydia Track, a five-hour walk in each direction; you could also bike or boat to the peaceful spot on the shores of Pelorus Sound.
Two hours from Nelson, Maruia River Retreat lies deep inside 200ha of untouched Aotearoa, on the river, surrounded by beech forest and protected from the east and west by mountains. The boutique lodge has seven riverside villas and has a wellness ethos, including day
spa, yoga classes and gourmet kitchen delivering fresh-from-thegarden food.
Franz Josef Rainforest Retreat ’s luxury treehouses are built on stilts to maximise their setting in lush native bush. Selfcontained, they promise king beds, espresso machines and outdoor decks with private hot tubs to make the most of the dark skies on a chilly night (stargazing windows for those who feel the cold). There’s also a holiday park in the trees with powered campervan sites, motel and dorm rooms and cottages. The onsite bar and restaurant serves pizzas and more.
On the east coast, Ha¯ puku Lodge + Tree Houses is a contemporary country hotel on a deer farm 12km north of Kaiko¯ ura. At the base of the Kaiko¯ura Seaward Range, the five tree houses are nested 10m up in the canopy of a ka¯ nuka grove. The three one-bedroom and two family “apartments” are designed to bring the tree canopies into the bedroom.
Aoraki Mt Cook Alpine Lodge offers selfcatering accommodation in the village, most rooms featuring spectacular views of the cloudpiercer and its surrounding peaks and glaciers. It’s set up to cater for all budgets.
Hereweka Garden Retreat, 30 minutes from Dunedin, lies on the Harbour Cone in the only remaining valley of native forest on Otago Peninsula, overlooking Hoopers Inlet. Settled into the eco-designed boutique accommodation, built with sustainable materials, guests can wander the garden and bush walks, sit quietly and watch for koromiko, kereru¯ , titipounamu, ko¯ tare and tu¯ ı¯; take the five-minute walk to the inlet and its wading birds; or meet other locals like penguins, sea lions, fur seals and albatross.
Milford Sound Lodge has rainforest campervan sites and secluded, stylish chalets among Fiordland’s rainforest, below peaks, beside rivers, rainbows and waterfalls. It’s not uncommon to share your breakfast with kea or the resident weka trying to steal your croissant.
One way or another, you’ll announce your arrival at Waitutu Forest Lodge, 40km from Tuatapere on Southland’s south coast. With the lodge in the remote environment at the base of Fiordland National Park, you get there by an exhilarating jetboat ride from Lake Hauroko down the Wairaurahiri River rapids, a sixminute helicopter ride from Rarakau, home of the soon-to-be-famous Hump Ridge Track, or a two-day walk. Your choice but you’ll probably want to book first to make sure there’s a room waiting for you.