The Mangapiko Stream is mostly a low-lying peat stream that flows through the heart of the Waipa district,

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

. The stream begins near the summit of Mt Maungatautari and then weaves westward through low-lying dairy farmland and eventually becomes a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the

Waipā River The Waipā River is in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. The headwaters are in the Rangitoto Range east of Te Kūiti. It flows north for , passing through Ōtorohanga and Pirongia, before flowing into the Waikato Ri ...

Pirongia Pirongia is a small town in the Waipā District of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is 12 kilometres to the west of Te Awamutu, on the banks of the Waipā River, close to the foot of the 962 metre Mount Pirongia, which lies i ...

. The New Zealand

Ministry for Culture and Heritage The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; ) is the department of the New Zealand Government responsible for supporting the Creative New Zealand, arts, Culture of New Zealand, culture, New Zealand Historic Places Trust, built heritage, Sport Ne ...

gives a translation of "winding stream" for ''Mangapiko''. The stream passes through

Te Awamutu Te Awamutu is a town in the Waikato, Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the council seat of the Waipā District and serves as a service town for the farming communities which surround it. Te Awamutu is located some south ...

("the river's end" in Maori) and meets with its main tributary, the Mangaohoe Stream, which also starts near the summit of Mt Maungatautari. There are also two other streams in Waikato with the same name. One flows off the Kaimai to enter the Waihou to the east of

Matamata Matamata () is a town in Waikato, New Zealand. It is located near the base of the Kaimai Ranges, and is a thriving farming area known for Thoroughbred horse breeding and training pursuits. It is part of the Matamata-Piako District, which take ...

. The other flows under Highway 22 to reach

Lake Whangape Lake Whangape (also written as Wangape, Whangapu, or Whangapae) is shallow, supertrophic, lateral and the second largest lake (after Lake Waikare) in the lower Waikato River basin in New Zealand. One source said the name translated to 'a large ...

via the Awaroa Stream.

Flora

The stream starts in native bush on Mt Maungatautari and also passes near and through mature stands of low-lying native trees. Those trees mostly consist of

tōtara ''Podocarpus totara'' (), commonly known as the , is a species of Podocarpus, podocarp tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island, South Island and rarely on Stewart Island, Stewart Island / Rakiura in lowland, ...

and

kahikatea ''Dacrycarpus dacrydioides'', commonly known as kahikatea (from Māori language, Māori) and white pine, is a Pinophyta, coniferous tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. A Podocarpaceae, podocarp, it is New Zealand's tallest tree, gaining hei ...

, but there are also some broad-leaf natives in between. The largest group of trees the stream passes through can be seen while going over the Cambridge Rd. Bridge.

Fauna

When kayaking or observing the stream, you can see

koi , or more specifically , are colored varieties of carp ('' Cyprinus'' sp.) that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens. Koi is an informal name for the colored variants of carp kept for ornamental purposes. ...

carp The term carp (: carp) is a generic common name for numerous species of freshwater fish from the family (biology), family Cyprinidae, a very large clade of ray-finned fish mostly native to Eurasia. While carp are prized game fish, quarries and a ...

along the edges or hiding in the side drains. There are also

New Zealand longfin eel The New Zealand longfin eel (''Anguilla dieffenbachii'') is a species of freshwater eel that is endemic to New Zealand. It is the largest freshwater eel in New Zealand and the only endemic species – the other eels found in New Zealand are the ...

, ducks and many

pūkeko The Australasian swamphen (''Porphyrio melanotus''), commonly known as the pūkeko in New Zealand, is a striking and socially complex bird found in Oceania, including eastern Indonesia (the Moluccas, Aru and Kai Islands), Papua New Guinea, New ...

Environment

The Mangapiko stream has been tested by

Environment Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the northern ...

by sampling the water quality at Bowman Rd. Results show that it had one of the worst scores out of all the streams tested in its zone. There are currently local volunteer groups restoring the stream banks with native bushes and trees. Farmers have also replanted their stream banks to stop them collapsing. This restoration work can be seen by kayaking down the stream.

Recreation

During most of the year the water level is high enough to kayak through, but in summer it can get a bit too low. With average water levels the stream can be kayaked from Rotoorangi Rd. Bridge to Te Rahu Rd. Bridge with two possible stopovers at Cambridge Rd. and Woodstock Rd. This journey goes past scattered native trees and through some blocks of native bush where no direct sunlight can get through. There is only one rapid to worry about which can easily topple over a kayaker. It is situated 10 seconds after the Woodstock Bridge. Due to being a low-lying stream, there is a very slow water flow. In many places of the stream there are willow trees blocking the way but are easy enough to push out of the way. The willow trees get very dense when entering the Te Awamutu area, and kayaking past them is impossible.

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20100830024636/http://www.ew.govt.nz/Environmental-information/Rivers-lakes-and-wetlands/healthyrivers/Our-other-rivers/Water-quality-monitoring-map/Mangapiko-Stream-at-Bowman-Rd/ * http://www.slideshare.net/donnadye/mangaohoi-stream-project * http://www.teawamutu.co.nz/info/attractions/memorial-park/ * https://web.archive.org/web/20110615084239/http://www.teawamutu.co.nz/community/showthread.php?181-Stream-Pollution {{coord, -37.9805, 175.1944, display=title, region:NZ-WKO_type:river Rivers of Waikato Te Awamutu Rivers of New Zealand