The Mamaku Ranges are a mountain range in the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. Located to the west of

Lake Rotorua Lake Rotorua () is the second largest lake in the North Island of New Zealand by surface area, and covers 79.8 km2. With a mean depth of only 10 metres it is considerably smaller than nearby Lake Tarawera in terms of volume of water. It i ...

and north of

Lake Taupō Lake Taupō (also spelled Taupo; or ) is a large crater lake in New Zealand's North Island, located in the caldera of Taupō Volcano. The lake is the namesake of the town of Taupō, which sits on a bay in the lake's northeastern shore. With ...

, they lie to the immediate south of the

Kaimai Range The Kaimai Range (sometimes referred to as the ''Kaimai Ranges'') is a mountain range in the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of a series of ranges, with the Coromandel Range to the north and the Mamaku Ranges to the south. The Kaimai ...

and can be thought of as an extension of it, in much the same way that the Kaimai Range can be considered an extension of the

Coromandel Range The Coromandel Range is a volcanic mountain range in the Coromandel Volcanic Zone running the length of the Coromandel Peninsula in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located east of the city of Auckland, and runs north–south for approx ...

. The hills terminate in the south with the valley of the

Waikato River The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It th ...

. There were at one time numerous bush railways that ran over and through the Ranges. One disused line has been developed for tourism. At their highest, the Mamaku Ranges rise to over , and much of the high ground within the hills forms a plateau. The range is extensively forested, with the Kaimai-Mamaku State Forest and Kinleith Forest both covering a considerable part of them. The forest includes

kauri ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees, native to Australasia and Southeast Asia. It is one of three extant genera in the family Araucariaceae, alongside '' Wollemia'' and ''Araucaria'' (being ...

trees growing at the far southern limit of their natural range. Some Kauri can be accessed via the Rapurapu Kauri Track.NZ DOC Rapurapu Kauri Track
/ref> Wairoa River at McLaren Falls power station.JPG, Wairoa River near McLaren Falls drains the northern Mamaku Ranges Omanawa Falls.jpg, The Omanawa Falls are on the north eastern border of the Mamaku Ranges Scene from a Mamaku RailCruiser - panoramio.jpg, View near Mamaku of more accessible eastern portion of ranges with a former disused railway line used as a tourist activity. Tokoroa From Scenic Lookout.jpg, View to south from

Tokoroa Tokoroa is the fourth-largest town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand and largest settlement in the South Waikato District. Located 30 km southwest of Rotorua and 20 km south of Putāruru, close to the foot of th ...

scenic lookout that includes in the distance to the left of the picture much of the south western Mamaku Ranges

References

Landforms of the Bay of Plenty Region Mountain ranges of New Zealand South Waikato District Long stubs with short prose {{Waikato-geo-stub