The Northland Forests

The Herekino Forest has now closed due to Kauri Dieback. From the boat ramp on Ninety Mile Beach please follow the Ahipara road to Kaitaia(18km). Please be careful on this road. From Kaitaia, walkers will need to catch a lift (the road walk is very dangerous as it is State Highway 1 to Ruaroa Road (5km). You can then walk up that road until you come to Takahue Road (6km) and then walk to Takahue (4km). Turn SE on Takahue Saddle Road for 2.5km alongside the Takahue River and keep right at the junction with Warner Rd.

No camping on Warner Road beside the river. There are no amenities at the Warner Road intersection.  This is a swimming area for local children and people are understandably concerned about water pollution. There is a campsite with toilets and showers 1.5 km up the track, 1km before the saddle junction for Broadwood.

See the Food and Supply section below for a possible meal stop at 271 Takahue Saddle Rd, just before the climb to the free campsite

Raetea Forest Track - 18km / 9.5hr

This DOC time estimate is low.  The Raetea Forest Track may take some walkers 12 to 15 hours.

Ōmahuta-Puketī Forest Track - 32km / 2 days

Warning: Some beehives en route, poison and trapping for possums, rats and mustelids occurs within this forest. Goat control operations using contract hunters also occur within this forest.

For forest hygiene and visitor safety reasons it is requested that in Ōmahuta and Puketī Forests camping is restricted to the sites recommended by DOC – those being Blackbridge Road and Puketī Forest HQ (eastern edge of Puketī Forest). These sites have been identified for camping as they are away from kauri, therefore reducing the risk of spreading kauri dieback disease and will be poison exclusion zones for possum control operations. Therefore please plan around using only these two sites.

From the Jacksons Road junction (km 166.3), head east on well-formed single-track forestry roads (vehicles are rare). 700m up Omahuta Forest Rd, take the left fork onto Kauri Sanctuary Rd. Keep travelling uphill for approximately another 6km past an airstrip on your left and occasional beehives tucked into the forest (just button up and walk gently past). The next major junction is where Kauri Pā Road runs off left. That’s the one to follow until turning off it onto Blackbridge Road km 173.7.

Ōmahuta-Puketī Forest Track is a challenging, wet route using river canyons – subject to flash floods. You need good equipment and navigation skills. Only go in dry weather. 

Apple Dam campsite, which may be mentioned in older track notes and maps, is now closed because of the potential spread of Kauri Dieback disease. Camping is available 4 km further along on Blackbridge Road

Continue along the well-formed Kauri Pā Road a further 1km, then fork right onto Blackbridge Road (more 4WD track) at km 173.7

Follow along to cross a concrete ford over a stream (NB: if water is flowing over the top of it, do not proceed as this means water levels in the Mangapukahukahu gorge will be too dangerous). Then climb a further 1.5km until, at the top of the climb, a 4WD track leads left along a soft ridge leading down to Mangapukahukahu Stream. The track is easy to follow down, past two old forestry skid sites. At the second/lower one, a track goes through the pampas grass on the right-hand side. It leads to a rough track (with orange markers) down through trees to the Mangapukahukahu Stream. 

There is a new basic DOC campsite with shelter, water tank and toilet on Blackbridge Road at km 177, after the ford and just before the track down to Mangapukahukahu Stream. No fires allowed at Blackbridge Camp

The stream runs through a gorge and is subject to flash floods in heavy rain.

Do not try to go further if there is heavy rain in the region. Return back to the wet weather bypass around the north of the forest.

As long as the weather is clear, walk SE crisscrossing between shoal banks in the stream for 2.5km until meeting up with the Waipapa River. Immediately south (right) of the junction between Mangapukahukahu and the Waipapa, a track leads up the bank and descends to a shoal where there's a shallow crossing of the main river. 

A short but very muddy climb up the bank meets up with the Lower Waipapa River Track. Recently upgraded, it was well marked but has suffered some damage in storm conditions in early 2023 

Walk 2.5km northeast to the streamside junction with the Pukatea Ridge Track. (The alternative is to try wading between shoal banks in/out of the Waipapa River but there are some deep sections). 

The Pukatea Ridge Track climbs steeply, (past a small freedom campsite 30m up the track) and then on up steps to the ridge through young kauri for 3.5km to meet the Takapau Track. 

From the junction of Pukatea Ridge and Takapau Tracks, head northeast for 300m to the junction with Walnut Track and Pirau Ridge Road (a well-formed 4WD road). Follow Pirau Ridge Road east for 9 km to the Puketī Forest Headquarters, Waiare Rd. There's a campsite here. Take care on Pirau Ridge Road as vehicles and cyclists also use this road. 

If recent heavy rain makes the Mangapukahukahu Stream section unsafe walk past the Blackbridge Road junction at km 173.6, stay on Kauri Pa Road and follow the Omahuta-Puketi Forest Bypass route marked on Map 11 for 25 km to teach Waiare Road, near to Puketi Forest HQ at km 198.  There is a possible camping spot at Louie's Stream, 8.8 km along the bypass route

In extreme conditions, it is possible to bypass the Ōmahuta-Puketi Forest Track completely and walk along the public roads south of the forests. This alternative is rarely used. Continue south (from Omahuta Road turnoff) on SH1 for 22km, turn left into Puketi Road and walk for 9km and Puketotara Road for 2km, then turn left up Mangakaretu Road to rejoin Te Araroa at km 204.3.