Waiuku Forest is a sand dune pine plantation forest on the northern mouth of the Waikato River administered by Crown Forestry. The forest is almost cut in two by the New Zealand Steel ironsand mine. The forest has an access road (gravel) traversing almost the length of the forest down to two picnic areas at the river mouth. There is also a road and track network within the forest that is well used for recreational activities such as horse riding, running, walking, car rallies and fishing access. Other recreational uses of the forest are orienteering, picnicking and sightseeing.
Open Hours
The forest opens at 7.00am each day and closing time is 6.00pm daily. Entry may be restricted during periods of high fire danger.
Parts of the forest are also able to be booked by recreation and sport groups for events (see below). On some occasions casual recreation may be restricted during particular events.
Getting There
From Waiuku, head south along Waiuku-Otaua Road until you reach a T intersection. Turn right onto Otaua Road, which changes into Hoods Landing Road as it veers left. Follow Hoods Landing Road south, then turn right onto Forestry Road (Forestry Road turns right after about 2.3km). Turn left off Forestry Road on to Wilson Road where the forest entrance is located.
From Pukekohe, head south east along Puni Road, this changes into Waiuku Road. Turn left at Puni School on to Aka Aka Road. Follow Aka Aka Road until you get to a T intersection. Turn left onto Aka Aka Church Road and turn right across the bridge that leads onto Otaua Road. Follow directions from Otaua Road above.
Holding an event
In order to hold an event in the Waiuku Forest, formal recreational groups need to make an application to Crown Forestry. Download an application form, complete the details required and return to MAF at P O Box 1340, Rotorua, fax to (07) 921 3402or email to shona.frame@maf.govt.nz
Groups holding approved events can access keys to the Waiuku Forest from the Customer Services desk at the Franklin District Council offices in Waiuku and Pukekohe. The key must be signed out by an individual who has their name on the list of authorised key uplifter's. The key is for access to Waiuku Forest for legitimate recreation related purposes only. These purposes include:
- Scoping areas prior to an event;
- Preparing the forest for an event (signage, barriers, minor works, etc);
- Access on days event(s) are held;
- Post-event clean up.
Get involved
To contact a recreation group who uses the Waiuku Forest please download the pdf above.
Partnering for Recreation in Waiuku Forest
Crown Forestry encourages recreational use in the forest where this is compatible with the requirements of forestry and mining operations. Since late 2004, Crown Forestry has worked with Franklin District Council and representatives of recreational user groups to create a committee to co-ordinate recreational use and manage recreational assets.
In recent months:
- Recreational trails have been mapped (see link at the top of page) ;
- Recreation gates have been installed to facilitate access;
- A trail linking the northern and southern parts of the forest has been developed;
- A procedure for recreational groups to follow when booking the forest for events has been established.
- Map of Waiuku Forest detailing trails, recreation gates and other features has been created.
If you are interested in contributing to the work of the committee, please contact Franklin District Council's Recreational Planner.
Attractions and Facilities
Reardons Road Lookout – The look out (off Reardons Road) provides views of the Waiuku River mouth and the New Zealand Steel ironsand mine.
Ethir Anduin – A cache named ‘Ethir Anduin’ is located in the forest that can be found using a GPS unit. The cache was named ‘Ethir Anduin’ after the shores of the land of Gondor in Lord of the Rings, where the river Ithilium flows from Mordor into the sea. Geocaching and caches worldwide are promoted through www.geocaching.com. Anyone wanting to find the Waiuku Forest cache should go to www.geocaching.com/seek and enter the keywords ‘Ethir Anduin’ to get the GPS coordinates.
Anyone finding the cache is requested to log the find on www.geocaching.com and in accordance with cache etiquette, remove an item from the cache and replace with some other worthless but intriguing object!