Kahurangi National Park

View of Mount Arthur

In May 1996, the Prime Minister officially opened Kahurangi National Park at a ceremony in the Cobb Valley. The stone commemorating the event can be found among the outcrops of rock at the head of the Cobb Reservoir. Kahurangi is the next largest National Park after Fiordland. It is a great empty land of high mountains, steep limestone escarpments and dark valleys.

It stretches from the base of Farewell Spit in the north to Murchison in the south, and from the Heaphy River in the west to Tapawera in the east. A portion of the park, the 'Wilderness Area' is untracked and will remain so, with no concessions to human access or comfort.

Powelliphanta

Kahurangi is home to many endemic species of plants, it has the largest range of flora of any of the New Zealand National Parks, hosting many South Island and North Island species. It is home to several species of the endangered giant land snail, Powelliphanta, and has a thriving population of the Great Spotted Kiwi.

No matter where you go in GOLDEN BAY, you are never far from Kahurangi; the Cobb Valley is the most popular access into the Park, followed by the world famous Heaphy Track. Other entrances include the Kildevil Track, the Anatoki Track, the Parapara Peak Track, the Aorere Goldfields, Boulder Lake and many others.

Continue to read information about the >>>> Paynes Ford Scenic Reserve