Life at No.22, Local Walks, New Zealand, Walks

Local Walk – Papamoa Hills

Suzanne

My day would not be the same without a walk somewhere, sometimes nowhere in particular.  It can be just a matter of opening the door and seeing which way I turn, left or right, indicating what will be included in my walk.  Sometimes, even a mode of transport is needed to take me further afield, as is today’s venture.

If my walk includes a tree or, even more preferably, a bunch of trees and a few breathtaking views, my walking enjoyment goes up a notch or two.

With this in mind, let’s head up a hill or two.

Papamoa Regional Park – Te Rae o Papamoa

Firstly, Te Rae o Papamoa means  ‘the forehead of the woman who is the hills’.

I was introduced to this area many years ago via a group 5km walk that took us through the Papamoa Hills to Summerhill Farm via an amazing night walk with volunteers offering us cake and coffee at the end.  Much appreciated as both years, it was a coolish night due to being held in winter [June].  The event was organised to raise funds for Breast Cancer Support Service Tauranga Trust.

Previous walks I enjoyed started from the car park on Poplar Lane (off SH2 between Tauranga and Te Puke).  The park entrance is somewhat hidden beside a Fulton Hogan quarry, though that hasn’t stopped the 80,000 visitors visiting annually.

The first segment to the 224m summit is steep at first, including weaving along the path through the welcome shade of a pine forest and native bush. Then, opening up to farmland, part of it is leased to a local farmer whose family, the McNaughton, have worked the land for over 100 years.

One of the main attractions of the park, aside from the 360-degree panoramic views at the summit, is the seven historic pa sites that dot the hills.

Built over 300 years from the 1400s, there used to be 17 pa sites in the area, all surrounded by deep trenches.

Karangaumu Pa was a defensive pa at the summit of the hills. It was in times of attack and battles when it used to be densely occupied, and there’d be over 2000 warriors here. One of the other pas, Patangata (towards the ocean from the summit), was where the women and children would head in times of battle.

If it’s all going completely wrong, they have some perfect escape routes to get them off the hills and safely away.

Not all the pa sites were occupied at one time. Apart from the ones where their job was to grow kumara. They would be on-site and in one particular spot the whole time.

The local information guide notes say it takes about 45 minutes; I took longer, enjoyed the vistas, and took a few photographs; there is no hurry on a lovely weather day.  If I was honest, I did require a few stops to catch my breath as the path rose relatively steeply and then levelled off.

Several other tracks allow you to explore the park’s cultural heritage and make the most of the expansive views, with most trails leading you to each of the six pa sites within the park boundary.

N.B. A more updated walk will be published soon.

Published by Suzanne

Travel and Life Musings from New Zealand and Beyond. . . . . . .

51 thoughts on “Local Walk – Papamoa Hills”

    1. Liesbet, I am pleased it brought good memories of your NZ travels. Yeah, feeling pretty much relaxed, well as relaxed as I do relaxed 🙂

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    1. Hi Jude, it should be lush with all the rain we have had! Luckily it’s a lovely sunny day. A good washing and walking day 🌻

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        1. The Bay of Plenty doesn’t have as much rainfall as those two 🙂 By the end of summer the hills will be not so green. We still loved Cornwall and Wales even with all the rain!

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    1. Hope you do put it on your list as I am sure you will enjoy the walk and the lovely vistas.
      Have fun in the Bay 🙂

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  14. A stunning walk Suzanne and I love your photos. I also think your idea of just walking out the door and turning right or left is great. I always walk the same way or run the same route but that can sometimes be boring and I don’t appreciate my surroundings. I think I will give your idea a try. I would also love to do a longer walk in New Zealand. I have done a 4 day walk through the Blue Mountains in Australia which was wonderful but challenging at times. Thank you for sharing your photo walk with us at #MLSTL and have a great week. x

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  15. We do have a lot in common Suzanne, a walk a day especially where there are trees 🙂 Really interesting post too, tough times it must have been with threats of battles. The line, “where women and children would head in times of battle”, hard times. I can’t get over how your photographs look like scenes from the UK, very green and lush, quite surprising. Gorgeous scenery! I would love to visit New Zealand.

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    1. Yes we do Sam 😊 plus a love of living in small spaces! NZ is very much like the UK. Those hills will be less green by the end of summer. There are world class ski fields here to visit Sam just thought I would add that small inducement 😎

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  16. That scenery is just stunning Suzanne – and so typical of NZ with its rolling green hills and valleys and sweeping ocean vistas. I plan to get there in the not too distant future and tick it off my bucket list.
    MLSTL – I’ve shared this on my SM 🙂

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  17. Hi Suz, what a great walk! I can’t wait to return to NZ to see more of the gorgeous countryside. I know what you mean about making a decision to go left or right out the door, I do that in the forest, will I go left or right today at the fork in the trails?? Like you most of my days include a walk somewhere! Loved this and have pinned. #mlstl

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    1. Oh, I didn’t realise anyone would see that old post. I corrected the grammer etc and republished it back to 2018. I’m going to do an update as there’s been work done on the entrance etc.

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