Mount Pirongia

The Māori people of the Tainui waka (Ngāti Maniapoto, Waikato Tainui, Ngāti Hikairo) have strong whakapapa-based links to Mount Pirongia. The mountain was first encountered after landfall of the Tainui waka around 800 years ago. Early names bestowed on the mountain included Paewhenua (the land barrier, given by Rakātaura) and Pukehoua (now given to a flank cone on the eastern side of the mountain). The present name is:, which translates to 'the putrid stench of Kahu', or more gently, the 'scented pathway of Kahu'. This name originates from Kahupekapeka (a Tainui tupuna), who following the death of her husband Uenga (descendent of the ariki Hoturoa), left Kāwhia with her son Rākamaomao and travelled inland, naming many peaks across the Waikato region. Kahupekapeka searched the bush on Pirongia for rongoā rākau (medicinal plants) to heal her body, which was afflicted by the miscarriage of her unborn child with Uenga. During 2001 DoC had invited nominations for a working group. The Society evolved from a hui at Pūrekireki Marae on 20 April 2002. The Māori people have a strong connection to Mount Pirongia. On 18 December 2024, the name of Pirongia's second tallest peak, The Cone, was formally changed to Pūāwhē by the New Zealand Geographic Board. ==Geography==

Mount Pirongia is located to the west of Te Awamutu and from the small settlement of Pirongia, and lies in the Pirongia Forest Park. It is clearly visible from the Tasman Sea, being just from the coast at Aotea Harbour. Geology Mount Pirongia is the largest stratovolcano in the Alexandra Volcanic Group chain which extends inland from Mount Karioi near Raglan. It is a mainly basaltic volcano, though andesite dykes form the peaks of Wharauroa, Mahaukura, Tirohanga, Pirongia Summit and The Cone. To the west it merges into the highland terrain of the Karioi horst block and in the east it arises above the Hamilton Basin, a major rift-related depression bound by the Waipa Fault Zone. There are at least six edifice-forming members separated by features including those resulting from large volume collapse events. The largest debris avalanche (the Oparau breccia) cascaded at least 25 km southwest from Pirongia into the Kawhia Harbour and was larger in volume (3.3 km3) than the Mt. St. Helens collapse of 1980 (2.5 km3). The collapse was followed by late-stage eruptions from the summit area around 1.6 Ma. The mountain contains unusually crystal-rich lavas of (ankaramite basalt) that also occur on Karioi, Kakepuku and Te Kawa but are not found elsewhere in New Zealand. Land use Mount Pirongia is a popular place for hunters from Hamilton seeking a quick day trip hunt, holding several feral goat herds on its bush-clad slopes. Rumours abound about small numbers of red deer released by farmers after an earlier deer farming boom went bust. Pirongia Forest Park is administered by the Waikato DoC office in Hamilton. near Pāhautea Hut at sunset ==Ecology==

Threatened plants include king fern, carmine rātā, thismia rodwayi and Wood Rose or Dactylanthus taylorii, a rare and endangered parasitic flowering plant, found on the ridges of Mount Pirongia. Near the summit there are mountain flax, coprosmas and ferns. Botanically, Mount Pirongia is also interesting area as it marks the transition between the warmth-loving kauri forest of the north and the beech and podocarp-beech forest in the south. The park's latitude is the naturally occurring southern limit for kauri, mangeao, mairehau, tāwari and taraire. Commonly found birds are: pīwakawaka, kōtare, tūī, kererū and kārearea. Pest control Possums and goats have been controlled since 1996, brown and black rats since 2006 and mustelids since 2019, using traps and goat, deer and pig hunters. About 1,000 goats were culled in 2021-22. 1080 drops in 2007, 2014 and 2020 were effective in reducing possum numbers. ==Recreation==

Tracks Summit tracks There are numerous tracks to the summit. All the tracks are well signposted, with bright orange plastic waymarks A lookout platform was built on Pirongia summit after 1999. • Wharauroa Track (2 hr / one way) is an alternative route to Wharauroa lookout, which is shorter and about less to climb. It starts over farmland at O’Shea Road, before climbing through tawa bush. • Ruapane Track (1 hr 30 min one way), a longer alternative route to Ruapane, starts at Waite Road. • Bell Track via Kaniwhaniwha Caves (6-10 hr / one way) starts with the Nikau Walk from Limeworks Loop Road. It stays in the valley to the kahikatea recorded as the tallest native tree at , then climbs to a series of clearings, one with a campsite. Beyond it is very muddy, as it climbs to the ridge and the Cone () and then passes Pāhautea Hut to the summit. • Tahuanui Track (4–5 hr / km one way) also starts with the Nikau Walk from Limeworks Loop Road. It climbs steadily beside the Kaniwhaniwha valley, before a short descent and ascent to join the Tirohanga Track to the summit. Lower tracks There are also lower level tracks - • Corcoran Road Lookout (15 min return ) a short, wheelchair accessible track, in bush to a viewpoint. • Mangakara Nature Walk (1 hr / 1.5 km return) views examples of miro, tawa, rimu, kahikatea, mahoe, rewarewa, kareao, pukatea, nikau and kāmahi bush. • Nikau Walk (2 hr 30 min / 7 km return) like the Bell and Tahuanui Tracks, this walk starts at Limeworks Loop Road, passes through an area planted around 2010, then follows the Kaniwhaniwha stream to a nikau palm and tree fern fringed loop walk. A further 30 minutes of walking allows a visit to the long Kaniwhaniwha Cave, through the limestone. • Ōpārau Route (1 hr one way) from Pirongia West Road is unmarked and crosses farmland to the park boundary. The Ōpārau River is unbridged and impassable after heavy rain. was given to the Waikato Branch of Forest and Bird in 1963 and gazetted as a reserve in 1966, but has since had its surrounding bush converted to farmland. The reserve has tawa-kāmahi forest with pukatea, miro and king fern. A trip to the summit from Pirongia (probably now the Wharauroa Route) was described in 1876, was said to be, "not always well marked" in 1879, in 1922 it was reported there were no tracks and, in 1924, that part of the track had become overgrown. Ascents of Pirongia were often reported in newspapers. Hut Between the Summit and The Cone, at the junction of the Bell and Hihikiwi Tracks, a hut built in 2015 has 20 bunks. An older hut with 6 bunks is next to it. ==See also==