Walk Kapiti (February Edition)

With Penny Redward

February 2010

Nikau Reserve on SH1. A 1km circular route that climbs just over 100 metres. Access via the slip road off the Lindale Interchange. Administered by Kapiti Coast District Council this reserve, with it’s easy parking and lush Nikau forest, provides a unique opportunity for a quick workout before (or after) lunching in the Lindale Complex.

My friend and I checked it out recently and were pleased to see the muddy track had been upgraded since our last visit. We took off on the formed path, enjoying the luxuriant groves of Nikau – so thick only tatters of blue sky peeped through – then suddenly, to our amusement, we were back in the car park via an exit only 20m north of where we had entered! It had literally taken us about five minutes to complete the circular formed track. Obviously KCDC have missed the “real” track!

Back we went, searching for at least one of the two tracks we knew climbed steeply to the lookout. Yes, they are there but not particularly obvious – after the formed pathway the route up looks little more than slightly clear bush. Take whichever track you find first and persevere – you will shortly come upon old steps and feel more confident you are on the right route. The climb to a picnic table at the top of the hill is steep, rough and muddy in wet conditions but takes only 15 to 20 minutes.

The views are worth sitting down for (and a good excuse to take a breather) – Waikanae, Kapiti Island, and ocean to Mount Taranaki. If you really need a workout do it twice or continue on from the picnic table along the verge of new roads built by the development of Nikau Valley north towards the untracked Paraparaumu Scenic Reserve.

From SH1 there are two routes up to the top so do hunt around and return on the one you didn’t come in on, and complete the loop of the formed track below if you haven’t (like us) already done it by mistake.

Allow plenty of time to enjoy the forest and views – an hour at least.

Next month we hit the tops so start training: Nikau Reserve with its steep ascent is perfect for quick spurts while travelling between Paraparaumu and Waikanae.

STORY OF THE WEEK

Kāpiti Coast councillors have toured of one of Aotearoa's unique buildings, the heritage - listed Rotunda at the former Otaki Health Camp, the country’s first.

Jeremy Smith reports that the 105-year-old, eight-sided rotunda predates the Health Camp.

It wasn't actually built in Otaki, but was one of two built in Rotorua in 1915 as part of a military hospital, on the site of Rotorua’s present public hospital.

Later they were taken to Otaki for the opening of the health camp in 1931.

Full story in the main column (December 19).

100 Years Ago — and the Maori Long March begins

Māori politics was dominated by the influential MPs (and sometime Cabinet ministers) Māui Pōmare ( Waitara statue photo above) and Apirana Ngata.

The 1920's also saw the rise of Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana’s religious movement, and the emergence of Te Puea Hērangi in Waikato.

Ngata worked hard to foster Māori scholarship and education and preserve traditional arts and culture.

He convinced the government to establish a Board of Maori Ethnological Research (1923), a Maori Purposes Fund Control Board (1924) and a School of Maori Arts and Crafts in Rotorua (1927).

The Reform government also took the first, tentative steps towards settling longstanding Māori grievances.

Agreements with Te Arawa in 1922 and Ngāti Tūwharetoa in 1926 recognised their respective rights over the Rotorua lakes and Lake Taupō, and led to the establishment of trust boards with some government funding.

Commissions of inquiry which examined Ngāi Tahu grievances (1920–21) and the Waikato and Taranaki confiscations (1926–27) recommended that modest compensation be paid.