Over 60 plant enthusiasts enjoyed the day walking around and looking at the variety of native species in Pan Pac’s QEII covenanted Pākuratahi Bush on Sunday.

Areas of interest included the impressive stand of mature Kahikatea (White pine) and the stand of Karaka, which experts suspect was planted intentionally by Māori living in the area pre-European settlement.

The visit was organised by QEII National Trust Hawke’s Bay Representative Troy Duncan and Pan Pac staff, with help from Marie Taylor from Plant Hawke’s Bay Ltd and Natalie de Burgh and Annabel Beattie from Hawke’s Bay Regional Council.

Among the attendees were members of the Hawke’s Bay Botanical Group, Te Wai Mauri Kaitiaki Rangers, Forest & Bird members, local QEII covenantors, and Napier MP Katie Nimon.

Pan Pac purchased the 68ha area of remnant native bush in 2019 as part of the purchase of 298ha of forestry land just north of our Whirinaki mill. We worked with the QEII National Trust to place the native bush area in a covenant, permanently protecting it. Since then, the bush has been deer-fenced and a planting programme has seen tens of thousands of new native plants added, aiding the regeneration of this special area.

During the walking tour, Marie Taylor explained to the group that Pākuratahi Bush was one of few native forest areas within cooee of Napier. It was also unique in the area, with stands of mature Ngaio and an “amazing” amount of Mataī established there.

“There’s nothing else quite like it anywhere around, and the potential for it is incredible”.