The towering redwoods make everything else seem small.

A double rainbow plunged into the lake bidding us a colourful farewell on our journey to the Whakarewarewa Forest.

Here we planned to walk several of the tracks in the Rotorua Redwoods.

We are an all-sorts group and lately we have been walking on all sorts of tracks.

Last week it was a battle with blackberries and this week the trail was wide, hard packed, groomed, and even included a short stint on gravelled forestry roads.

We arrived at an i-Site that was humming with buses and cars unloading even more people and decided to make a hasty retreat into the cool stillness of the Sequoia Sempervirens, aka Redwood, forest.

In 1901, 170 different types of exotic trees, including redwoods, were planted in the area by the NZ Forest service and prison labour to assess their growth and possible commercial value.

In its native California much of the water used by coastal redwoods is obtained from mist and fog and they grow slowly into a hard wood, useful for building, whereas our rainfall promotes rapid growth in the species and a soft wood which is not so useful commercially.

Now only six hectares survive in this forest.

In the Redwood Walk there is a memorial to Mary Sutherland who, apart from being the first woman forestry graduate in the world, became, in 1923, the first woman appointed as a forester by the NZ Forest Service.

Another section of this walk is dedicated to the Forest Service staff who died as service persons in either of the two world wars.

Three tōtara pou represent the hapū who are tangata whenua.

We crossed an old thermal pond where sunken foliage seemed almost preserved by the water.

Standing amongst the trees were three human shaped sculptures made of polished redwood and concealed galvanised steel armature and titled ‘Walk in the Redwoods’.

After a short walk beside a carpark and a puff up a forestry road we were on the Pohaturoa Track.

This trail in the west section of the park has great views over the township and Whakarewarewa Thermal area.

The penalty is quite a few storeys of stairs to climb but it was well worth the effort.

Further on at a clearing near a trig beacon, we glimpsed Waipa Sawmill but found more expansive views from a short side track.

Redwoods, Radiata pine, Mexican pine, Japanese larch and Douglas fir are all still growing in this section.

Numerous cycle tracks, and cyclists, crisscrossed the walking trail.

We kept strictly to the yellow markers to avoid heading in the wrong direction, or worse still, causing a crash by venturing onto a cycle track.

The last section was down a road shared by bike transporters and sometimes logging trucks.

It was a relief to re-enter the treed area near the i-Site and link up with the Green track, aka the Quarry Lookout track.

Shorter but quieter and once again beginning with a hill.

In the early 1960’s a rhyolite quarry was opened to provide metal for the forestry roads.

Quarrying is noisy work, and it had a short-lived existence, closing in 1966 after residents’ complaints.

Sadly, we never spotted any trace of the quarry.

Experimental trees seen here included Douglas fir, Walnut and Eucalypts but native punga and mamaku ferns were thriving and a pleasure to see.

There was plenty of aerial activity with people walking on the suspended bridges and platforms tethered on tall redwoods and even a few braving a zipline.

Aerial activity of the avian kind in the forest was noticeably absent.

We did see pīwakawaka and a few Californian quail that took flight as soon as they detected presence.

Three carved tōtara pou representing the hapū who are tangata whenua stand at the beginning of the road into the forest reminding us of the nurturing received from the land.

The forest is a great asset and has much to offer walkers, cyclists and equestrians.

Locals and clubs co-operated to build and maintain trails with the Rotorua Trails Trust now overseeing the trail network and liaising with iwi, landowners, forest managers and DOC to ensure all commercial and recreational interests and activities are protected.

No well-groomed tracks next week.

It is a rocky walk for us. If you would like to join us or for more information, please email walkersmondaytaupo@gmail.com or follow us on Facebook at “Taupo Monday Walkers.”