Papamoa Hills Regional Park (Te Rae o Papamoa)
From the park visitors can see Mauao (Mount Maunganui) and the Tauranga harbour in the west through to Putauaki (Mount Edgecumbe) and Moutohora (Whale Island) in the east.
Papamoa hill is the highest point on the ridge (224m above sea level).
The Park can be seen from the coastline and from a wide area of the surrounding plains.
The Bay of Plenty’s first regional park, the Papamoa Hills Regional Park or Te Rae o Papamoa, opened to the public in July 2004. The focus of the Park is the rich Maori cultural history. It has a large number of archaeological sites and has many historical and ancestral associations.
The Park is a significant cultural, recreational and historical asset to the people of the Bay of Plenty region. The Park is significant in New Zealand’s archaeological landscape as there are few examples of historical occupation of such complexity in such a relatively small area. This can be attributed to a large extent to the careful management of the land by the McNaughton family since the late 1800s. It is an extremely valuable public asset that should be preserved and celebrated in the future.
The purpose of this Plan is to set out how Environment Bay of Plenty, Tangata Whenua and the community intend to manage the Papamoa Hills Regional Park over the next 10 years. The Plan will guide the day-to-day and long-term management of the Park and will set a context for the future use and conservation of the natural heritage and cultural resources situated there.
Key directions of the management plan are:
• Looking after the archaeological and cultural heritage is the primary role of the management plan, whilst ensuring the continuing public enjoyment of the Park
• Continuing to operate the Park as a farm.
• Retaining the ridgelines, hilltops and slopes in open grassland.
• Using native and non-native planting in gullies and to define the lower edges of the Park.
Copies of the Papamoa Hills Regional Park Management Plan are available from Environment Bay of Plenty offices (Mt Maunganui, Rotorua and Whakatane) and Tauranga City Council, Western Bay of Plenty District Council and the Papamoa Library.
To be sent a copy, please contact Environment Bay of Plenty on 0800 ENV BOP (368 267) or email info@envbop.govt.nz.
The Papamoa hill sites are important to local iwi.
The hill is a boundary between the Mataatua and Te Arawa waka and the sites have significance to a number of iwi/hapu.
Maori have long understood the importance of the hills with their commanding position over the surrounding coastline.
From Te Rae o Papamoa they could control the south-eastern access to Tauranga Moana and the coastal strip down to Maketu. Archaeologists suggest the history of Papamoa hills may begin around 1650 AD or even earlier. Papamoa is a large archaeological complex. There are at least seven pa sites in the Papamoa Hills Regional Park, and others can be seen in the surrounding landscape.
The bulk of the park was bought from the McNaughton Family who owned and farmed the land for more than 100 years. Further additions to the park include nine hectares provided by Fulton Hogan Ltd and 28 hectares adjacent to SH2. The total size of the park is 135 hectares.
There is one walking track from the car park to the summit. It takes 45 mins to reach the summit and the track rises steeply through pine forest up to the open ridge.
Visitors may use any of the Park land. Sunscreen and a sun hat for sunny days and good walking shoes are recommended.
There is an information board at the car park that provides further information about using the park.
Opens: 7.30am
Closes: 6.00pm (winter) 8.30pm (summer)
Distance from Tauranga: 20km (20minutes)
Distance from Rotorua: 65km (45minutes)
Distance from Whakatane: 80km (60minutes)
From Tauranga, travel east on State Highway 2 towards Whakatane. About 1 km past the Papamoa/Bell Road turn-off on the left, turn right into Poplar Lane. The carpark access is on the right, before you reach the quarry gate.
From Rotorua, travel towards Te Puke via Tokerau. The park is 5 km after Te Puke on the left. Turn left from SH2 into Poplar Lane.
From Whakatane, follow State Highway 2 towards Tauranga. The park is 5km after Te Puke on the left.
For more information on the Papamoa Hills Regional Park, phone Environment Bay of Plenty on 0800 ENV BOP (368 267) or email info@envbop.govt.nz
A to Z Page Index
Contact Us
Print Version