Rewa Bush Trip Report – Sunday 25 February 2024
Participants: Margaret, Denise, Alissa, Ian, Kim, Nathan, Julia, Pat, Hamish & Sarah
With all the hot weather we have been having, we were keeping an eye on the fire risk out at
Ngaumu and well as the weather for the week leading up to the trip. In the end, the weather was
kind and we had a bit of rain the night before to bring the fire risk down.
We left Masterton at 8am and met up with Julia & Pat from the Friends of Rewa Bush, plus their
neighbours at the entrance road where we left one vehicle.
Our first walk was an old track off Pioneer Road. There was a little bit of bush bashing in places, but
generally an easy to follow route along an old road and track. We found some old steps, bridges and
signposts as well as four named giant podocarps along the way. We continued on a short distance
to a viewing spot where we could see across the valley. After checking out this area we headed back
to the cars the same way as we came.
Next up we headed to the north-eastern entrance of the reserve where we did a loop through an
area of rewarewa - some giant mature trees as well as lots of young ones. This was a lovely spot for
morning tea. Once back up on the main route we headed down a fairly open ridge where there
were some trees marked with orange permalot which were vegetation survey plots. Some headed
back from here and the rest continued on down to see some more mature trees. The giant matai
made a good lunch spot. We turn around here and headed back up to the cars.
It was a fantastic opportunity to explore this lovely area which is not known to many. Our thanks to
Julia and Pat for all the work they do at Rewa Bush and for sharing their amazing knowledge of the
area. We are already making plans for our next trip.
