84-450: Ohakune is a small town at the southern end of Tongariro National Park , close to the southwestern slopes of the active volcano Mount Ruapehu , in the North Island of New Zealand . A rural service town known as New Zealand's Carrot Capital, Ohakune is a popular base in winter for skiers using the ski fields (particularly Turoa ) of Mount Ruapehu and in summer for trampers hiking
168-482: A bridge was built over the Whakapapa River. This led to an influx of tourists and demands for more accommodation at Whakapapa. The hotel Chateau Tongariro at Whakapapa opened in 1929 with 95 bedrooms and associated cheaper lodges for trampers. The road was extended beyond Whakapapa Village after World War 2. Road access to the park was further improved in the 1960s with the development of roads needed for building
252-449: A few years had disappeared. The heather thrived, leading to criticism of its introduction as early as the 1920s because it threatens the ecological system and endemic plants of the park. In 1996, the heather beetle, Lochmaea suturalis , was imported to deal with the invasive heather but initially this was not very successful. Between 1996–2018, only 5,000 ha of heather was damaged by the beetles. However research in 2021 showed that
336-683: A height of 1530 m, where they cover 127.3 km . On this level, one can also find a 50 km beech forest, containing red ( Nothofagus fusca ), silver ( Nothofagus menziesii ) and mountain beech ( Nothofagus solandri var cliffortioides ). Understory species within the forests include ferns such as crown fern ( Blechnum discolor ) as well as shrub species. There is also a 95 km area of scrubland, containing kānuka ( Leptospermum ericoides ), mānuka ( Leptospermum scoparium ), celery-top pine ( Phyllocladus aspleniifolius ), inaka ( Dracophyllum longifolium ), woolly fringe moss ( Rhacomitrium lanuginosum ), small beeches and introduced heather. To
420-643: A macron when Ngāti Rangi objected. The lands to the south and west of Mount Ruapehu were historically inhabited by the Māori of the Ngāti Rangi iwi. Around the middle of the seventeenth century a marae at Rangataua , a small town about five kilometres south-east of Ohakune, was attacked and the inhabitants were driven from their homes by raiders from the Ngāti Raukawa, an iwi from farther east in Manawatū . Around 75 of
504-589: A nationwide problem. Volunteers and the government have been working since the 1960s to eradicate wilding pines on Mt Ruapehu, since they shut out native plants, consume water and degrade the environment. Tongariro National Park received funding from the National Wilding Conifer Control Programme which was set up in 2016 to produce a coordinated nationwide effort at pine control. By 2023 the Conifer Control Programme had stopped
588-588: A park ranger was appointed. Skiing on the mountains in the park became popular from about 1914, when the Ruapehu Ski Club was established. The first ski hut was built on Mt Ruapehu in 1923 at an elevation of 1770 m, and a ski lift was constructed in 1938–1939. The first motor vehicle reached Whakapapa village via the Bruce Road in August 1925, after the previous rough cart track was upgraded by prison labour and
672-546: A permanent camp for railway and road construction workers. Settlement of the town commenced in the early 1890s. Forty quarter-acre sections in the township were sold at auction in February 1983. Prior to the completion of the railway to the town, all supplies had to be transported via cart from Hunterville , or from Whanganui via the Whanganui River steamer to Pipiriki and then by cart for the remaining distance. By March 1908
756-455: A sex ratio of 1.11 males per female. The median age was 36.1 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 225 people (19.0%) aged under 15 years, 246 (20.8%) aged 15 to 29, 555 (47.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 150 (12.7%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 69.8% European/ Pākehā , 34.8% Māori , 2.3% Pacific peoples , 7.9% Asian , and 3.3% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas
840-420: A tapu on the area, denying Dieffenbach, Governor George Grey and Hochstetter permission to ascend the volcanoes, and the artist George French Angas was forbidden from sketching the mountains. Mananui and many of his family died in a landslide in 1846. His body was put in a vault at Pūkawa, and later taken to a burial cave on Mount Tongariro. In 1910, Mananui's remains were reinterred in a tomb at Waihī. With
924-424: A whole, which are based on data from the previous census (in this case, the 2013 census) and calculated using a cohort-component method. Population projections also take into consideration births, deaths, and net migration. In 2016, New Zealand's population at the time of the 2018 census was projected to be between 4,807,000 and 4,944,000. Data uses fixed random rounding to protect confidentiality; each data point
SECTION 10
#17328580640651008-606: Is 11 km to the west, at Raetihi . Ohakune has the usual range of shops and services found within a typical small New Zealand town. Ohakune has a number of clubs and is home to the Ruapehu Rugby & Sports Club. Ohakune is covered by the Whanganui Chronicle , a daily paper part of the NZ Herald network. Ski FM Network operates out of Ohakune hosted by 91.8 FM Ruapehu/Turoa, a Central North Island radio station. During
1092-627: Is a meeting place of the Ngāti Rangi hapū of Ngāti Tui-o-Nuku . Ngā Mōkai Marae and Whakarongo meeting house are a meeting place of the Ngāti Rangi hapū of Ngāti Tongaiti . In October 2020, the Government committed $ 836,930 from the Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade a cluster of 7 marae, including Maungārongo Marae, creating 95 jobs. Ohakune is located in the Ruapehu District and
1176-470: Is at an elevation of 582 metres (1,909 ft). Ohakune covers 6.44 km (2.49 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 1,570 as of June 2024, with a population density of 244 people per km. Ohakune had a population of 1,182 at the 2018 New Zealand census , an increase of 198 people (20.1%) since the 2013 census , and an increase of 87 people (7.9%) since the 2006 census . There were 450 households, comprising 621 males and 561 females, giving
1260-527: Is for the census usually-resident population count. The largest age group is people aged 25 to 29, who comprise 7.3% of the population. Data is the census usually-resident population count. Data is the census usually-resident population count. Declared sex of New Zealanders Data is for the census usually-resident population count of people aged 15 years and over. Data is for the census usually-resident population count of employed people aged 15 years and over. Home ownership among New Zealanders. Data
1344-441: Is for the census's usually-resident population. Birthplace of New Zealanders There was no change in the top five ethnicities between the 2013 and 2018 censuses, which are New Zealand European (64.1%), Māori (16.5%), Chinese (4.9%), Indian (4.7%), and Samoan (3.9%). Data is for the census usually-resident population count. Results add up to over 100% due to people declaring multiple ethnicities. Most New Zealanders, 48.5% of
1428-725: Is managed by the Department of Conservation to ensure the horses' current range does not extend back into the National Park. Alongside a goat control programme in Tongariro Forest adjacent to the Tongariro National Park, the Department of Conservation (DoC) is vigilant about detecting feral goats within the park. In 2024, a helicopter using thermal imaging technology searched 16,000 ha of the park for goats, but none were found. DoC states that regular surveillance and early action
1512-611: Is more cost-effective than trying to root out a population that has already become established. Project Tongariro (formally, the Tongariro Natural History Society) is a conservation group set up by volunteers in 1984 as a memorial to national park staff lost in a 1982 helicopter accident. Since the 1980s the group has undertaken many projects in Tongariro National Park, including ecological restoration at Lake Rotopounamu, restoration of sites used in filming
1596-575: Is on the North Island Main Trunk Railway. The railway station is located off Thames Street in the Ohakune Junction area, approximately 2.5 kilometres from Clyde Street in the centre of town. Passenger services are provided by the national operator KiwiRail under its Great Journeys New Zealand division. The Northern Explorer is a non-daily service operating between Auckland and Wellington . The journey to/from Auckland crosses
1680-477: Is on the south-western slope. Though it has only nine lifts, the 5 km skiing area is almost as large as Whakapapa's. There is no accommodation at the ski field: the nearest town is Ohakune. These two ski fields came under common management in 2000. The company later went into receivership, and in November 2023, Pure Tūroa, a Māori collective, took over a 10-year lease of Turoa. Management of Whakapapa remained with
1764-401: Is rounded either to the nearest multiple of 3 ( 2 ⁄ 3 chance) or the next-nearest multiple of 3 ( 1 ⁄ 3 chance). The census usually-resident population count of New Zealand is a count of all people who usually live in and were present in the country on census night (6 March 2018), and excludes overseas visitors and New Zealand residents who are temporarily overseas. Due to
SECTION 20
#17328580640651848-410: Is snow to about 1500 m. Temperatures vary dramatically, even within one day. In Whakapapa, they can fall below the freezing point all year round. The average temperature is 13 °C, with a maximum of 25 °C in summer and a minimum of −10 °C in winter. In some summers the summits of the three volcanoes are covered with snow; on top of Mount Ruapehu, snow fields can be found every summer and
1932-406: Is the previous census completed before this one. In July 2018, it was estimated that the 2018 census had a "full or partial" response for 90 percent of individuals, down from 94.5 percent in the 2013 census and the planned release date for census information was changed from October of the same year to March 2019. This drop, which already amounted to the lowest census response rate for fifty years,
2016-507: Is well embedded in legislation and government systems. Since 1881, censuses have been held every five years, with the exceptions of those in 1931 and 1941 and the one in 2011 which was cancelled due to the February 2011 earthquake in Christchurch , which displaced many Canterbury residents from their homes only a few weeks before census day. It was rescheduled for March 2013, so the 2013 census
2100-592: The Manawatū-Whanganui region, to the immediate south-west of the slopes of the Mount Ruapehu stratovolcano . The associated Ohakune volcanic complex is just to the north of the town and the small lakes Rangatauanui and Rangatauaiti to the south of the town. The town is 25 kilometres (16 miles) west of Waiouru , 70 kilometres (43 miles) northeast of Whanganui , 287 kilometres (178 miles) north of Wellington and 292 kilometres (181 miles) south of Auckland , and
2184-615: The New Zealand Parliament passed the Tongariro National Park Act in October 1894, the park covered an area of about 252.13 km , but it took until 1907 to acquire the land. In 1908, a scientific party consisting of botanist Leonard Cockayne , forester and surveyor Edward Phillips Turner and geologist Robert Speight spent several months exploring and surveying the park. Their report presented to Parliament detailed
2268-612: The North Island Volcanic Plateau . Directly to the east stand the hills of the Kaimanawa range . The Whanganui River rises within the park and flows through Whanganui National Park to the west. Most of the park is located in the Ruapehu District (Manawatū-Whanganui region), although the northeast is in the Taupō District (Waikato Region, or Hawke's Bay Region to the north). Tongariro National Park stretches around
2352-591: The Tongariro Alpine Crossing . The Ngāti Rangi iwi say the Māori language name Ohakune comes from the phrase " he Ohakune ki te ao ", which broadly means "an opening to a new world" and refers to the descent from Mount Ruapehu into the valley and swamps of the area. In 2019 the New Zealand Geographic Board changed the official name to Ōhakune , indicating that the first letter was a long vowel, but swiftly reverted to Ohakune without
2436-470: The short- and long-tailed bat . Tongariro National Park also teems with insects like moths and wētā . Also present in the park, as well as the whole of New Zealand, are animals introduced by Europeans, such as black rats , stoats , cats , rabbits , hare , possums and red deer . In the early 20th century, park administrators, including John Cullen , introduced heather to the park for grouse hunting. Grouse were introduced in 1924, but within
2520-545: The 1980s and '90s Ohakune was home to the Weather Rock , a local landmark in Thames Street popular with tourists for photographs; the rock used to "forecast" current weather conditions with a sign listing sayings such as "If rock is hot – sunny", "If rock is wet – raining", etc., and appropriately for the region, "If rock is bouncing – earthquake". The site is currently vacant. The world's first commercial bungee jumping site
2604-581: The Act was passed in 1980. Tongariro National Park has been under the control of the New Zealand Department of Conservation since the creation of the department in 1987. A plaque at the Whakapapa Visitor Centre commemorates Te Heuheu's gift to New Zealand. The first activities in the young Tongariro National Park were the construction of tourist huts at the beginning of the 20th century. But it
Ohakune - Misplaced Pages Continue
2688-574: The Lord of the Rings, surveys of blue duck habitats, and restoration of the Hapuawhenua Viaduct in the park. The main activities are hiking and climbing in summer, and skiing and snowboarding in winter. There is also opportunity for hunting, game fishing, mountain biking, horse riding , rafting and scenic flights. The most popular track in Tongariro National Park is the Tongariro Alpine Crossing . Most of
2772-508: The Rings film trilogy ; tours to view these places are commonly arranged by the tour's operators and lodges. Mount Ngauruhoe was also featured in Hunt for the Wilderpeople . Tongariro National Park landscapes were used as backgrounds for Queen Bavmorda's castle in the 1988 film Willow . 2018 New Zealand census The 2018 New Zealand census , which took place on Tuesday 6 March 2018,
2856-591: The Tongariro Alpine Crossing were allowed to pass by the hot springs, but the Māori owners Ketetahi Springs Trust closed the route because they objected to commercial guides making money from their land. In 2010, the Department of Conservation agreed to re-route the Tongariro Alpine Crossing so that it didn't cross the private land. On the park borders are the towns of Tūrangi , National Park Village and Ohakune . Further away are Waiouru and Raetihi . Within
2940-523: The Tongariro Power Scheme. Tongariro National Park covers 786 km stretching between 175° 22' and 175° 48' East and 38° 58' and 39° 25' South in the heart of the North Island of New Zealand. It is just a few kilometres west-southwest of Lake Taupō . It is 330 km south of Auckland by road, and 320 km north of Wellington . It contains a considerable part of
3024-455: The calendar. The Mardi Gras is both a ski party and celebration of winter, and includes musicians, stalls and rides. Ohakune has three schools. State Highway 49 runs through the town, where it is locally named Clyde Street. Ohakune is on the Intercity coach network, with a non-daily service running north to Auckland via Taumarunui and south to Palmerston North via Whanganui . Ohakune
3108-478: The census, but also blamed operational complexity and flaws in management. Due to a decision to conduct the census primarily online, the census attracted only an 83% response rate, even lower than the 90% earlier reported, and well short of the 94% census percent target and a nine percent drop from the previous 2013 New Zealand census . On 13 August 2019 the report was released to the public and Liz MacPherson offered her resignation, taking ultimate responsibility for
3192-485: The central North Island , is the oldest national park in New Zealand. It has been acknowledged by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site of mixed cultural and natural values . Tongariro National Park was the sixth national park established in the world. The active volcanic mountains Ruapehu , Ngauruhoe , and Tongariro are located in the centre of the park. There are a number of Māori religious sites within
3276-526: The eastern edge of the town there is a large replica of a carrot , known as "The Big Carrot". This is reputedly the world's largest model carrot, and was originally constructed as a prop for a television advertisement for the ANZ Bank in the early 1980s. After filming was complete, the carrot was donated to the town in recognition of the area's reputation as the source of a high proportion of New Zealand's carrots, and installed in its current position in 1984. In
3360-454: The facilities in Whakapapa, the park is well developed for tourism. These tracks also serve as winter routes, as well as the track to the summit of Mount Ruapehu. Rock-climbing is also an option. The first stage of Te Ara Mangawhero, a cycling and walking track between Mt Ruapehu and Ohakune, opened on 4 November 2024. The 11.4 km loop track was expected to bring tourists to the area. Eventually
3444-665: The famous Raurimu Spiral . From 18 December 1917 until 1 January 1968, Ohakune was also the junction for the Raetihi Branch , a branch line railway to Raetihi . A truss bridge formerly used by this branch still stands near the Big Carrot. Seventeen kilometres to the east of the town is the Tangiwai Bridge, site of New Zealand's worst railway accident, the Tangiwai Disaster , on 24 December 1953. A mock-romantic song from
Ohakune - Misplaced Pages Continue
3528-442: The flora and fauna and geology of the region, and recommended that the park's boundaries be expanded. Cockayne also noted that it was important to protect the environment from development and introduced pests. When the Act was renewed in 1922, the park area was extended to 586.8 km . Further extensions, especially Pihanga Scenic Reserve in 1975, enlarged the park to its current size of 786.23 km . The last modification to
3612-467: The gap left when Taranaki departed. Māori hold the summits of the mountains to be sacred or tapu. John Bidwill is thought to be the first European to climb Mt Ngauruhoe, in March 1839. His Māori guides refused to take him to the summit because it was tapu, so Bidwill climbed alone. He was met with anger when he returned to the village he had started from. The chief Mananui Te Heu Heu Tūkino II then placed
3696-402: The heather beetles were spreading and had been killing the heather. Since 2018 the beetles have damaged more than 35,000 ha of heather, reducing cover in affected areas by up to 99% and thereby allowing native plants to recover. The NZ Defence Force no longer needs to spray herbicide on large parts of its training ground next to the National Park. A 2024 study of heather in the park found that it
3780-527: The high rate of non-response in the census, the published results combine answers from census forms with data from the 2013 Census and from government administrative data. Reports from an External Data Quality Review Panel include quality ratings for each variable, taking the added data into account. Population counts for regions of New Zealand . All figures are for the census usually-resident population count. In 2018, 3,370,122 people (71.7%) were born in New Zealand, with 1,329,633 (28.3%) born overseas. Data
3864-548: The massif of the three active volcanoes Mount Ruapehu , Mount Ngauruhoe , and Mount Tongariro . The Pihanga Scenic Reserve, containing Lake Rotopounamu, Mount Pihanga and the Kakaramea-Tihia Massif , though separate from the main park area, is still part of the national park. Ketetahi hot springs is an area of 39 ha on the northern slope of Mt Tongariro which, although it lies within the park boundaries, has never been part of Tongariro National Park. Formerly, hikers on
3948-521: The mid-1960s called September in Ohakune was recorded by Peter Harcourt on an LP called Land of the Long White Shroud . Notable people from, or significantly connected with, Ohakune include: [REDACTED] Media related to Ohakune at Wikimedia Commons Tongariro National Park Tongariro National Park ( / ˈ t ɒ ŋ ɡ ə r ɪr oʊ / ; Māori: [tɔŋaɾiɾɔ] ), located in
4032-618: The most significant chief of the Ngāti Tūwharetoa iwi . Later the peaks of Mount Tongariro , Mount Ngauruhoe, and parts of Mount Ruapehu, were conveyed to the Crown on 23 September 1887, on condition that a protected area was established there. This 26.4 km area was generally considered to be too small to establish a national park after the model of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming , United States, and so further areas were acquired. When
4116-464: The mountain summits being of great significance to local Māori , and in order to prevent the selling of the mountains to European settlers, in 1886 the Ngāti Tūwharetoa iwi had the mountains surveyed in the Native Land Court and then set aside ( whakatapua ) as a reserve in the names of certain chiefs. One of these chiefs was Te Heuheu Tūkino IV (Horonuku), son of Mananui Te Heuheu Tūkino II and
4200-517: The northwest, and around Mount Ruapehu , between an altitude of 1200 and 1500 m, large areas (around 150 km ) are covered with tussock shrubland and tussock grass . This tussock consists mainly of New Zealand red tussock grass ( Chionochloa rubra ), inaka, curled leaved neinei ( Dracophyllum recurvum ), wire rush ( Empodisma minus ), and bog rush ( Schoenus pauciflorus ), as well as heather and grasses like hard tussock ( Festuca novaezelandiae ) and bluegrass ( Poa colensoi ). Above 1500 m,
4284-588: The number of partially and fully completed responses. On 9 April, she reported that one in seven New Zealanders, 700,000 people, failed to complete the census. In July 2019 the independent inquiry returned its findings to the Government Statistician, the Minister of Statistics and the State Services Commissioner , reporting that too little attention had been paid to the non-digital aspects of
SECTION 50
#17328580640654368-713: The park borders and provide easy access. In the west, State Highway 4 passes National Park village, and in the east, State Highway 1 , known for this stretch as the Desert Road, runs parallel to the Tongariro River. State Highway 47 joins these two highways to the north of much of the park, although it bisects the Pihanga Scenic Reserve. The southern link is State Highway 49. The North Island Main Trunk railway from Auckland to Wellington passes National Park village. Like
4452-473: The park borders, the only settlements are the tourism-based village at Whakapapa Village which consists solely of ski accommodation. Two Maori kainga (settlements) Papakai and Otukou are not part of the park but lie on the shores of Lake Rotoaira between the Pihanga Scenic Reserve and the main park area. The bulk of Tongariro National Park is surrounded by well-maintained roads that roughly follow
4536-427: The park, and many of the park's summits, including Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu, are tapu , or sacred. The park includes many towns around its boundary including Ohakune , Waiouru , Horopito , Pokaka , Erua , National Park Village , Whakapapa skifield and Tūrangi . Tongariro National Park is home to the famed Tongariro Alpine Crossing , widely regarded as one of the world's best one-day hikes. In Māori legend
4620-413: The park, including rare endemic species like the North Island brown kiwi , kākā , blue duck , North Island fernbird , double-banded plover and New Zealand falcon/kārearea . Other bird species common in the park are tūī , New Zealand bellbird , morepork/ruru , grey warbler/riroriro , fantail , whitehead/pōpokotea and silvereye . The park also features the only two native mammals of New Zealand,
4704-493: The period July 2022 – March 2023, 9% of international visitors visited the Tongariro National Park. Over-tourism is a problem in the park, particularly on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing where visitor numbers increased from 10,000 in 1990 to 125,000 in 2015. In addition to the difficulties of managing greater numbers of vehicles, rubbish disposal and toilet facilities, the environment becomes degraded and park staff face more callouts for visitors needing rescue. In an attempt to manage
4788-427: The platform side of the station building lists its height at 2,029 feet (618.4 metres) above sea level. In 2015 Ohakune had a dental clinic, pharmacy, fire station, police station, ambulance station, social welfare branch, churches, a marae with a district nurse, gymnasium, and a health shuttle for outpatient care at Whanganui Hospital 110 km away. The nearest medical centre with GP, nurses and physiotherapist
4872-412: The population, identify as being irreligious. Data is for the census usually-resident population count. The vast majority of New Zealanders, 95.4%, speak English; in second place is Māori, with 4.0% of the population being able to speak it. Data is for the census usually-resident population count. New Zealanders who declare Māori descent. 18.5% of New Zealanders have at least some Māori descent. Data
4956-433: The railway line had reached Ohakune. The period of railway construction activities was followed quickly by intensive timber milling; as the forest was cleared, cattle and sheep were introduced and farming progressed. Ohakune was constituted a town district in August 1908 and in November 1911 attained borough status. Ohakune has two marae . Maungārongo Marae and Tikaraina Ringapoto or Ko Te Kingi o Te Maungārongo meeting house
5040-654: The receivers. Beside these major ski fields, there is also the Tukino ski area , a club ski field open to the public. This ski field is run by Tukino Mountain Clubs Association which is made up of Desert Alpine Ski Club , Tukino Alpine Sports Club and the Aorangi Ski Club on the south-eastern slope. The ski clubs each have a 32 guest club on the field accessed by a 4WD road from State Highway 1. Tukino Ski Area has two nutcracker rope tows, and covers 1.9 km . In
5124-445: The results, stating "I'm sorry, the buck stops with me." State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes agreed with her assessment, and asked MacPherson to remain in her role until Christmas of 2019, noting that "she is the best person to finish the remediation work". The 2018 census collected data on the following topics: Statistics New Zealand annually conducts population projections for New Zealand as
SECTION 60
#17328580640655208-416: The situation, in 2023 the Department of Conservation put in place a booking system for those wishing to walk the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. A 1984 feature film, Wild horses , was filmed in the park. The plot centres around conflict between Kaimanawa horse wranglers, deer cullers and park rangers. Mount Tongariro and Mount Ngauruhoe were one of the several locations where Peter Jackson shot The Lord of
5292-492: The spread of wilding pines in the Tongariro area including the national park and removed most sources of seeds. Until the mid-20th century, wild horses descended from animals brought to New Zealand in the 1800s roamed in the national park and surrounding areas. After the population declined due to hunting and habitat changes, the horses, today known as the Kaimanawa horse , came under government protection in 1981. The population
5376-574: The summit is glaciated. The park's volcanoes are the southern end of a 2500 km long range of volcanoes, below which the Australian Plate meets the Pacific Plate . These volcanoes have resulted from internal tectonic processes. The Pacific Plate subducts under the Australian plate, and subsequently melts due to the high temperatures of the asthenosphere . This magma, being less dense, rises to
5460-796: The summit of Mt. Ruapehu today, however there is abundant geomorphological evidence for more extensive glaciation in the recent geological past. Glaciers were last present on Tongariro during the Last Glacial Maximum . The Tongariro National Park is a rough and partly unstable environment. To the north and west of the park, a podocarp-broadleaf rain forest near Lake Taupō stretches over an area of 30 km , and up to an elevation of 1000 m. In this rain forest live Hall's totara ( Podocarpus laetus ), kahikatea ( Dacrycarpus dacrydioides ), kāmahi ( Weinmannia racemosa ), pāhautea ( Libocedrus bidwillii ), and numerous epiphytic ferns , orchids , and fungi . Pāhautea trees can be found further on up to
5544-746: The surface and goes through the weak parts of the Earth's crust (the faults) resulting in volcanic processes in the area. Volcanic processes have been building the mountains of Tongariro National Park for over two million years. Three volcanoes (Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu) remain active, while the park's two northernmost volcanoes (Pihanga and the Kakaramea-Tihia Massif) last erupted over 20,000 years ago. They have however produced significant historic mudflows. Erosion and deposition by mountain glaciers has also played an important role in shaping Tongariro and Ruapehu volcanoes. Small glaciers are present on
5628-570: The terrain consists of gravel and stone fields and is accordingly unstable. Nevertheless, some plants occasionally settle there, such as curled leaved neinei, snow tōtara ( Podocarpus nivalis ), mountain snowberry ( Gaultheria colensoi ), bristle tussock ( Rytidosperma setifolium ), bluegrass and Raoulia albosericea , which cover an area of 165 km . Between 1700 and 2020 m there are some isolated Parahebe species, Gentiana bellidifolia and buttercups . Above 2200 m live only crustose lichens . There are 56 significant species of birds in
5712-590: The three volcanoes do not belong to a greater mountain range, but there is still a noticeable rain shadow effect with the Rangipo desert on the Eastern leeward side receiving 1,000 mm of annual rainfall. At Whakapapa Village (1119 m) the average annual rainfall is about 2200 mm, in Ohakune (610 m) about 1250 mm and in higher altitudes, such as Iwikau Village (1770 m), about 4900 mm. In winter there
5796-491: The town is largely based on services. The largest categories of GDP were retail trade (15.8%), arts and recreation services (14%), accommodation and food services (10.9%) and owner-occupied property operation (9.1%). In the same period there were 781 filled jobs, with 22.5% of these in retail trade, 19.9% in accommodation and food services, and 14.3% in arts and recreation services. Ohakune has facilities for snow sports, trout fishing, mountain biking, tramping and bushwalking. On
5880-551: The town. Ohakune caters for various summer activities, and provides access for trampers hiking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing . Mountain bikes are available for hire at various outlets in town. Various water activities are available on the nearby rivers, with jet boating on the Whanganui River and rafting available along the Whanganui, Rangitikei and Tongariro rivers. Trout fishing is available in nearby lakes and rivers, including
5964-623: The track is also part of the Tongariro Northern Circuit , a two- to four-day hike, which is one of New Zealand's ten Great Walks . Side trips to the summits of Mount Tongariro and Mount Ngauruhoe are possible on these tracks. Another route is the three- to six-day Round the Mountain Track around Mount Ruapehu. Besides these, there are numerous shorter tracks appropriate for day tramps. With this track net, three camp sites, two emergency shelters, nine public and four private huts and
6048-461: The track is expected to extend towards Turoa Ski Field. Snow season is from late June to early November. The biggest ski area, Whakapapa , is on the north-western slopes of Mount Ruapehu. It has 15 lifts, covering an area of 5.5 km . Directly next to the ski field are 47 ski club huts: most of them also accommodate non-club members. The next settlement is at the base of the mountain, in Whakapapa village. A slightly smaller ski field called Turoa
6132-557: The village's population were slain and the dozen or so survivors fled to Maungarongo and established a pā on the present site of the town of Ohakune. The Crown purchased 10,000 acres of Native land at Ohakune in 1879. In 1883, the first engineering reconnaissance commenced for the Marton — Te Awamutu section of the North Island Main Trunk Railway and a base was established upon the present site of Ohakune, and soon became
6216-426: The volcanoes in Tongariro National Park are personified. Various versions of the basic story exist: Tongariro and Taranaki were both in love with Ruapehu or Pihanga and had a great battle. Taranaki lost the battle and fled west towards the coast, carving out the Whanganui River on the way. The Tama Lakes ( Māori : Ngā puna a Tama ), two crater lakes between Mount Ruapehu and Mount Ngauruhoe, are said to represent
6300-524: The whole of New Zealand, Tongariro National Park is situated in a temperate zone . The prevailing westerly winds gather water over the Tasman Sea . As the volcanoes of Tongariro National Park are the first significant elevations that these winds encounter on the North Island, besides Mount Taranaki , rain falls almost daily. The east–west rainfall differences are not as great as in the Southern Alps , because
6384-410: The winter it operates as an "information desk" for information about the snow levels for the region. Ohakune provides easy access to the nearby ski fields of Mount Ruapehu ; the large commercials ski resorts of Turoa (the closest resort to Ohakune) and Whakapapa , and well as the small club field Tukino . Various outlets for clothing and ski hire, as well as purchasing lift tickets, are available in
6468-588: The world-famous Tongariro River . Activities can be booked at the Ruapehu i-SITE. The Bridge to Nowhere in the Whanganui National Park located between Ohakune and Whanganui is a popular destination for trampers and mountain bikers. In recent years the number of events hosted by Ohakune has increased, with both the Big Mountain Short Film Festival and Ohakune Mardi Gras featuring on
6552-527: Was $ 31,100, compared with $ 31,800 nationally. 141 people (14.7%) earned over $ 70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 528 (55.2%) people were employed full-time, 144 (15.0%) were part-time, and 39 (4.1%) were unemployed. In the year to March 2021, the GDP of Ohakune was $ 74m, representing approximately 10% of the GDP for the Ruapehu District as a whole. The economy of
6636-467: Was 18.5, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 53.6% had no religion, 29.2% were Christian , 4.8% had Māori religious beliefs , 2.3% were Hindu , 0.3% were Muslim , 0.5% were Buddhist and 2.3% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 168 (17.6%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 162 (16.9%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income
6720-554: Was blamed on a 'digital-first' policy for the census. An independent review was initiated by the Government Statistician in October 2019, and in November Statistics NZ announced that release of census data would be pushed back to at least April 2019 due to "the complex nature of the task". In early April 2019, the Government Statistician, Liz MacPherson was facing possible charges of contempt of parliament. She had twice refused, on 13 February and in early April, to disclose
6804-408: Was causing the disappearance of native ferns, sedges and rushes and affecting the growth pattern of red tussock. An underground fungus that has a symbiotic relationship with the tussock was also affected by the spread of heather. Pine trees were introduced into New Zealand in the 1930s for forestry and control of erosion, but ' wilding pines ', coniferous trees grown from wind-blown seeds, have become
6888-401: Was established just outside Ohakune at the old railway viaduct. This was operated during the 1980s until the bridge became too unsafe to continue operations. This bridge is now restored and a highlight of the 'Old Coach Road' walk/bikeway. Ohakune railway station has the second highest elevation of any operating railway station in New Zealand behind National Park Railway Station ; a sign on
6972-526: Was not until opening of the North Island Main Trunk railway line between Auckland and Wellington in 1908 and the building of roads in the 1920s that a significant number of people visited the park. This early tourist development explains the rather uncommon existence of a permanently inhabited village and fully developed ski area within a national park. The second Tongariro National Park Act, in 1922, started some active conservation efforts, and in 1923
7056-493: Was the thirty-fourth national census in New Zealand . The population of New Zealand was counted as 4,699,755 – an increase of 457,707 (10.79%) over the 2013 census . Results from the 2018 census were released to the public on 23 September 2019, from the Statistics New Zealand website. The most recent New Zealand census was held in March 2023. The Census Act 1877 required censuses to be held every fifth year and
#64935