New Zealand Bush in Taranaki

We go for walks in the high country bush quite often, a great way to relax and enjoy nature.The photo above is what the ranges high up in the hills in East Taranaki New Zealand, where I love to take a walk and enjoy the peace that nature offers us.

The Taranaki region lies on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand with a land area of 723,610 hectares (3% of New Zealand's area), Taranaki hill country to the east is steeply dissected and prone to soil erosion, heavy rains running down the gullies, causing a lot of damage. Much of Taranaki has been developed for agriculture, particularly pastoral farming.Over 60% of the region is in grassland or crops, and nearly 40% of the land area is in indigenous or exotic forest cover, as you can see from the photos on this page.

New Zealand is a land of beauty, once's seen never forgotten.

This clip was taken at the Zealandia wildlife sanctuary in Wellington NZ. The sounds aren't actually made by "live" birds but are recordings of birds that you can play by pressing a button. It does, however, give a reflection of what a walk in the NZ bush must have sounded like the day before humans reached the shores of Aotearoa, actually this is for real because this is what it sounds like when we go for a walk in East Taranaki Bush - our farm.

Wanting to know more about New Zealand, books are a way you can enjoy it, they will give you lots of information about the country you are interested in, the touristy places around the three islands, (let's not forget Stewart Island at the bottom of the South Island), some about the off-the-beaten-tracks, wonder spots were most tourist don't go, there so much offering in the land of beauty, so if you are thinking of a holiday in New Zealand a book about the subject will be most helpful.

Bush walks is something most people enjoy, there are plenty of them around New Zealand, some of them a day's trip. other take your tramping gear and camp and enjoy nature all around you.Some of these walks are a bit slippery like the photo here, but you don't have to walk along here, just stop and take a photo, and move on, great memories for you to remember years later.

Because of their initial fertility, farmers were wrongly led to believe that steep hill country could be farmed sustainably.

Driven by false expectations and often by poverty and the need to survive, farmers turned steep forests into pasture.

Half a century later, these soils started eroding badly, requiring them to be reforested as a last resort.

For more information.

With the above statement from it is not all true as you can see from this photo, it is still all in bush.

When water enters the soil on a slope, usually down cracks after a dry period, it scours out the subsoil to form a tunnel.

The soil often later collapses inwards, and an open gully forms.

In 1997 the Ministry for the Environment noted that:

50% of the country was affected by moderate to slight erosion

10% had severe to extreme erosion (eastern North Island, parts of Taranaki, and the South Island high country)

only 31% of the total area could sustain pastoral farming without significant control of erosion

a further 28% could support restricted livestock grazing combined with erosion control.

It stated that the erosion of agricultural soils in the North Island hill country and South Island high country was of major concern.

For more information.

Water run-off or gravity carry soil to lowland or stream sites.

This occurs when running water gouges shallow channels or deep gullies into the soil.

Just couldn't resist taking this photo, the beauty of nature.

This Rimu tree above is 60 to 70 meters high, it has weathered many storms, but still standing and doing it's best to continue growing.

About the above video When driving a back country road in New Zealand you don't expect to see a house coming towards you, obviously bigger than the road, so you stop and watch and hold your breath but all is good it got to its new site all intact.

This is what it is like on the roads, one way road, not nice either with a Stock truck is coming around a blind corner and you have nowhere to go.

We don't travel at 100km's an hour on these roads about 70 Km's is safe, but be ready to stop for anything, it maybe a big bull in the middle of the road and it won't move so you can get passed it.

Yes it's not all fun living in the high country and coping with narrow roads and slips.

The bushland is so beautiful, that you can lose a whole day just walking and admiring what nature has left us to love and cherish.