Tūpari Reserve

Tūpari is a 730 ha private reserve in the Kaituna Valley, Banks Peninsula/Te Pātaka-a-Rākaihautū, owned and managed by the Mikimiki Conservation Trust. This land and the Kaituna river have sustained people from the days of the great explorer Rākaihautū to the families who farmed here from the 1850s until 2022.

Tūpari means cliff or precipice, and the reserve is indeed very steep – it rises from 60 metres above sea level on the Kaituna valley floor to 818 metres at the highest point. This steepness means that over a relatively small distance it’s home to a diverse range of ecological habitats, from ancient mixed podocarp forests to subalpine rocky outcrops.

The ecological importance of this area was recognised in the Survey Report for the New Zealand Protected Natural Areas Programme in 1992, and the upper two thirds of the property are part of a Recommended Area of Protection. The botanist Hugh Wilson notes:

‘the diversity of this area … makes this RAP floristically valuable. It also contains some of the best mataī-dominant mid-altitude podocarp forest surviving in the District and the Region.’

The northern boundary of Tūpari Reserve is along a ridge that lies between Mounts Bradley and Herbert/ Te Ahu Pātiki and is shared with the 500 hectare conservation block of Te Ahu Pātiki. Together with other neighbouring land to the east, there is approximately 2,000 hectares of contiguous land which is being managed for conservation. Regeneration within this larger block is more effective than islands of vegetation, which are each vulnerable at their edges.

Flora and Fauna

In 2022 the Mikimiki Conservation Trust purchased the land to preserve and enhance the ancient forest remnants and subalpine plants, together with the native animal and birds who make their home at Tūpari.

The variety of tree species include ancient mataī, kahikatea, lowland tōtara and thin-bark tōtara. Sub-alpine and rocky outcrop plant species include the silver and eastern bristle tussock, Acaena dumicola (a bidibidi only found near Mounts Bradley and Herbert/Te Ahu Pātiki) and the Banks Peninsula sun hebe, Veronica lavaudiana.

What work is being done?

The Trust follows the principles of natural regeneration, removing gorse and broom only where fragile alpine plants are unable to compete, as well as along tracks and boundaries. Under the cover of these nursery plants, seeds from the remnant forest then repopulate the land, providing a robust flora suited to local conditions.

Work has begun excluding exotic pest species. This starts with fencing out stock and the targeting of pest species such as possum, ferret, stoat, weasel, hare, rabbit, rat, pig, deer, hedgehog and feral cat.

Control of invasive plant species such as old man’s beard, banana passionfruit, wilding pine, grey willow, cherry plum and ivy is underway.

The Trust is working towards the requirements needed to provide legal protection for the ecologically significant areas of Tūpari Reserve. Over time, as natural regeneration progresses, protection will be extended to those areas of the property which are still in modified pasture.

If you would like to follow our exploits, visit us on http://www.facebook.com/tupari.reserve

Can I visit Tūpari Reserve?

In time, the Mikimiki Conservation Trust hopes to open Tūpari Reserve to the public, and our first public track we’re working on is an alternative track to the Packhorse Hut, which we plan to have open in the summer of 2025/2026. Until this is possible, we love to provide guided walks for groups and schools. Walks up to 6 hours long can be planned to suit your needs. This will be on a mixture of old farm tracks and trails through the bush, which will help make the hills an achievable walk for most.

We’ve hosted tramping clubs, garden and environmental groups, and the Banks Peninsula Walking Festival.

Please email tuparireserve@gmail.com to discuss how we can help. We ask for a donation/koha to help with our conservation work.

How can I help?

Tūpari is a private reserve. This means that our work runs on grants and donations. We’re delighted to receive any donations from our well-wishers via internet banking to:

Mikimiki Conservation Trust
38-9023-0706146-00

Pair of leather gloves $5
1L of lure for our possum traps $22
DOC200 trap for rats, stoats and hedgehogs $65
AT220 trap for possums and rats $500

The Mikimiki Conservation Trust is a New Zealand Registered Charity. Donations over $5 are tax deductible. For a receipt please email tuparireserve@gmail.com.

About the Mikimiki Conservation Trust

The Mikimiki Conservation Trust was created in 2022. It is a registered charity (registration number CC60204) and is incorporated by the Companies Office under the Charitable Trusts Act 1957.

The trustees are Megan Reynolds, Mark Nixon and Hugh Nixon.