The Maungaharuru Range is located 34 km from Napier in the

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 ...

region of

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...

. The name means in ''the mountain that resounded'' in Te Reo Māori due to the bird population. Maungaharuru is the spiritual mountain of the

hapū In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...

Ngati Kurumōkihi. They are the

kaitiaki Kaitiakitanga is a New Zealand Māori term used for the concept of guardianship of the sky, the sea, and the land. A kaitiaki is a guardian, and the process and practices of protecting and looking after the environment are referred to as k ...

of Boundary Stream and the area. In 2017 the hapū were given four conservation reserves in the Hawke's Bay by the Crown as part of

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...

settlements. The Ngati Kurumōkihi hapū gave the reserves to the people of New Zealand (Aotearoa), three of these conservation areas are located in the Maungaharuru Range.

Conservation

The Maungaharuru Ecological District is part of the Maungaharuru Range, a conservation reserve known as the Boundary Stream Mainland Island. There are five tracks are maintained by the New Zealand Department of Conservation through the reserve called the Boundary Stream tracks. These include a walk to Hawke's Bay's highest waterfall, Shine Falls which is 58 metres high, and the rock formation named Bell Rock. This conservation reserve makes up 800 hectares of the Maungaharuru Range which is home to native plant and bird species including

wētā Wētā (also spelled weta in English) is the common name for a group of about 100 insect species in the families Anostostomatidae and Rhaphidophoridae endemism, endemic to New Zealand. They are giant wingless insect, flightless cricket (insect ...

kaka Kaka may refer to: People Nickname or given name Sports * Kaká (born 1982), Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, Brazilian football attacking midfielder * Kaká (futsal player) (born 1987), Carlos Augusto dos Santos da Silva, Italian futsal pivot * ...

and kiwi. The elevation in this reserve is 300 metres above sea level at its lowest to 950 metres high in the range.

Pest management

An organised pest management programme began in 1996 in the area by Predator Free Hawke's Bay to remove the introduced mammals destroying the natural environment. Predator Free programmes aim to create an environment where native species could survive. In 2018 Titi (

Cook's Petrel Cook's petrel (''Pterodroma cookii''), or the tītī or blue-footed petrel, is a Procellariformes, Procellariform seabird. It is a member of the gadfly petrels and part of the subgenus ''Cookilaria'' Bonaparte, 1856, which includes the very simil ...

) were returned to their original nesting site in the range through the translocation project Poutiri Ao o Tane.

Geography

The smaller Bellbird Bush Scenic Reserve, Opouahi Scenic Reserve and Thomas Bush Scenic Reserved are also located in the Maungaharuru Ranges. The rest of the range is farmland. Taraponui Peak is a part of this range, rising to 1308 metres. The range is rugged with high winds, this environment has attracted two wind farm consents for a

Hawke's Bay wind farm The Harapaki Wind Farm is a wind farm project in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand. Construction began in June 2021 and was completed in 2024. As of 2024 it is the second-biggest wind farm in New Zealand. History In 2006, Hawke's Bay Wind ...

Renewable generation

In 2005 two consents were issued in the Maungaharuru area, one for the private company Hawkes Bay Wind Farm Ltd and the other by Unison Networks Limited. The two consents were purchased by

Meridian Energy Meridian Energy Limited is a New Zealand electricity generator and retailer. The company generates the largest proportion of New Zealand's electricity, generating 35 percent of the country's electricity in the year ending December 2014, and i ...

in 2010 and 2011 respectively and were combined as one site, these consents were extended to 2023. In August 2019, Meridian sought interest from potential contractors for the wind farm's construction. Construction would be expected to begin in 2020. ''See

Hawke's Bay Wind Farm The Harapaki Wind Farm is a wind farm project in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand. Construction began in June 2021 and was completed in 2024. As of 2024 it is the second-biggest wind farm in New Zealand. History In 2006, Hawke's Bay Wind ...

.''

References

{{Coord, 39, 07, S, 176, 46, E, display=title, region:NZ_type:mountain_source:GNS-enwiki Landforms of Hawke's Bay Mountain ranges of New Zealand