4 4 .

SOME NOTES ON THE EAR NORTH. - George Mason,

Scot's PT. ̂ ...̂

1?.

r

The North Cape or Aupouri Peninsula c o n s i s t s of a much dissected t a b l e l a n d i n the extreme north connected by a great tombolo sweeping south-east to the ancient mainland at Ahipara. I t s extreme length on the west coast i s s i x t y miles, but i t s breadth i n some places i s l e s s than f i v e m i l e s . Much of the area i s very low l y i n g e s p e c i a l l y towards the southern end. There are few h i l l s of any height - Mt. Camelr. s i t u a t e d on a narrow tongue of land on the seaward side of Houhora Harbour, reaches to 774 f e e t , and i n several places along the extreme northern coast the h i l l s r i s e to j u s t over 1000 feet e.g. Unuwhao, 1063 f e e t , at the eastern end of S p i r i t s Bay.

Northwards from the mainland at Awanui the country i s very young g e o l o g i c a l l y being of Recent Age. Extending i n a b e l t from Waipapakauri near the shores of Rangaunu Harbour, along the Awanui River to K a i t a i a , and then out to the west coast at Ahipara are low l y i n g a l l u v i a l p l a i n s c o n s i s t i n g of swampy and sandy peat deposits. These organic s o i l s now Support a r i c h pasture grassland of Paspalum, Rye grass and Clover which i s the basis of a prosperous d a i r y i n g industry as on the K a i t a i a P l a t . Northwards from here connecting Ahipara to the North Cape area proper are extensive sand dunes of very recent o r i g i n . These wind blown sands cover the older rock formations of the coast and being bare of vegetation quite often are constantly moving i n l a n d . They farm a continuous b e l t 50 miles long and sometimes extend r i g h t across the peninsula to the east coast.

This Par North area has been subject to considerable f l u c t u a t i o n s i n l e v e l since the end of the T e r t i a r y Period. At some time i t was reduced to a few small i s l a n d s separated by shallow seas from the northern mainland - then to a more elevated s t r e t c h of land than at present so that i t was probably joined to the Three Kings group f u r t h e r to the north. I t may have bean at t h i s time that the Kau r i f o r e s t s f l o u r i s h e d here, but as the land sank to i t s present leve these were eli m i n a t e d by encroaching sand and by the la n d becoming swampy with numerous shallow lakes and ponds as now.

4 5 .

North of Awanui are extensive peat swamps extending out to the west coast. Large q u a n t i t i e s of K a u r i gum have been taken from such swampy ground, but the d r i f t i n g sand dunes overly much of t h i s K a u r i gum peat. At Waipapakauri the h i l l s are blanketed with a very dense and pure growth of the introduced Hakea a c i c u l a r i s . The h i l l s from here northwards to Houhora Harbour are low and scrub covered but d r i f t i n g sand from the west coast i s encroaching on the inland farms. In some l o c a l i t i e s the sand invasion has been as r a p i d as 200-250 yards i n a few months. The land here c o n s i s t s of o l d e r , consolidated Pleistocene sands which form the backbone of t h i s country, and connects the f a r north t a b l e l a n d to the southern mainland. The vegetation i s very barren and scanty, c o n s i s t i n g of manuka and bracken heath on the 1 .' h i l l s with sedges and raupo i n the swampy v a l l e y s . One soon r e a l i s e s that the landscape i s quite devoid of trees and that i t i s characterised by the monotonous grey-green c o l o u r i n g of Leptospermum which strongly dominates t h i s heath,

Houhora Harbour i s dominated by Mt. Camel (named by Captain Cook) and t h i s more elevated mass i s composed of an outcrop of harder and more ancient rocks. I t was o r i g i n a l l y scrub covered but since the e a r l y days has been repeatedly burnt r e s u l t i n g i n the northern and eastern slopes being eroded down to bare c l a y l e a v i n g a t r u l y barren and blackened landscape. F i r i n g of the vegetation has long been c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of the Par North and therefore no Europeans have seen the true n a t u r a l vegetation here. F i r e s l i t by the o r i g i n a l i n h a b i t a n t s , the Aupouri (black smoke) t r i b e , probably swept over much of t h i s open country before the a r r i v a l of the pakeha. The p r i m i t i v e manuka heath with i t s dense, closed canopy has gradually d e t e r i o r a t e d with t h i s c o n t i n u a l f i r i n g and i n places the indigenous induced grass Danthonia semiannularis has spread widely over scrub covered land which has been repeatedly burnt.

Apart from an attempt at pine a f f o r e s t a t i o n around Ngataki, the gumlands extend northwards. Here an occasional o l d gumdigger gains a scanty l i v e l i h o o d as he f u r t h e r adds to the d e p l e t i o n of the semi-natural heath and swamplands by repeated f i r i n g . P r i c k l y t h i c k e t s of Hakea were common i n the scrub and are e v i d e n t l y spreading r a p i d l y -t h i s e x o t i c could w e l l have been l e f t i n i t s native home, A u s t r a l i a . Between Waihopo and Ngataki the golden wattle (Acacia l o n g i f o l i a ) i s most abundant, no doubt helped much by f i r i n g , and also by i t s own p r o l i f i c seeding, r a p i d germination and growth.

At Te Kao the consolidated sands end and a mid-Tertiary v o l c a n i c conglomerate now i s present, and t h i s i s shown by the road c u t t i n g s of a red clay with ironstone pebbles. Low l y i n g a l l u v i a l f l a t s near Te Kao and some of the surrounding gently undulating country, a l l l e s s than 200 f e e t above sea l e v e l , are grassed i n a paspalum, rye grass, c l o v e r pasture. But the land north of Tangaoke r i s e s to over 300 f e e t becoming h i l l y and of intense r e l i e f with very few f l a t areas. These l a t t e r are l a r g e l y confined to around the shores of Parengarenga Harbour which i s an extensive i n l e t formed by the drowning of a sunken stream system. The south head of the Harbour i s b u i l t of d a z z l i n g white sand which must be almost pure s i l i c a and i t f i n d s use i n the g l a s s making i n d u s t r y . From here the Harbour spreads out i n a l l d i r e c t i o n s g i v i n g a very i r r e g u l a r o u t l i n e - shallow arms run to the north and south and almost across to the west coast. At low water the greater part of the Harbour i s bare of water l e a v i n g mudflats drained by channels which are f r i n g e d with mangroves. The muddy i n l e t s and t h e i r streams run i n l a n d and terminate i n the usual swamp vegetation between the low h i l l s . The adjacent country i s quite bare of f o r e s t and the open gumland vegetation i s often sparse. But plants more of note were Pomaderris e d g e r l e y i . Epacris p a u c i f l o r a and the climbing p a r a s i t e Cassytha p a n i c u l a t a i n t e r l a c e d and t r a i l i n g everywhere, Cassytha, an endemic to the Far North, i s e s p e c i a l l y abundant i n manuka heath which has been repeatedly burnt i n recent years.

46.

From the Te Hapua ro ad j u n c t i o n the road ascends through more gumlands and then turns down into the more f e r t i l e v a l l e y i n which Te Paki S t a t i o n homestead i s s i t u a t e d amongst the farm t r e e s . The pastures are composed mainly of three introduced grasses - Paspalum dilatatum, perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and white c l o v e r ( T r i f o l i u m repens). This pasture shows marked seasonal changes. In summer the ryegrass-clover combination tends to dry o f f to a drab brown appearance, but the paspalum dominates as green patches. The d r i e r ridges are grassed i n Danthonia (p. semiannularis, D. p i l o s a and crosses between these two spp.). Juncus polyanthemus was common over the wetter land.

By the o l d Te Paki stream road many d i f f e r e n t v a r i e t i e s of Leptospermum scoparium (var. incanum) and L. e r i c o i d e s (var. lineatum) were noted i n the scrub with a s i l k y - l e a v e d form, p o s s i b l y approaching L. s i n c l a i r i i . The c o n s i s t e n t l y uniform drab colour of the manuka heath i s r e l i e v e d somewhat by the pink flowered v a r i e t y of L. scoparium which was common here.

On the encroaching west coast dunes were growing such common arenarian plants as Cassinia r e t o r t a , Arundo conspicua, phormium tenax and the introduced Lupinus arboreus. One of the la r g e f r e s h water l a k e s , dammed back by the ever-moving sands, contained some i n t e r e s t i n g water plants, besides the f r i n g i n g Typha - these included two members of the order Charales ( N i t e l l a sp. and ehara sp., both of which were conspicuously f e r t i l e ) and Potamogeton p o l y g o n i f o l i u s , a l l of -which were r e t r i e v e d from the sandy lake f l o o r . Nearer the coast the huge s a n d h i l l s are often almost completely bare of vegetation, though the dune foreshore i s somewhat s t a b i l i s e d by the native sand binder, S p i n i f e x and, to a l e s s e r extent, by the sedge, Desmoschoenus s p i r a l i s . The sand c o l o n i s i n g plants occur i n a d e f i n i t e regular pattern with an unstable, sparsely vegetated zone near the coast, to a semi-stable b e l t , then to a f i x e d dune area f u r t h e r i n l a n d . Thus the S p i n i f e x zone has many bare areas with a few associated plants such as C a l y s t e g i a s o l d a n e l l a and Oxalis c o r n i c u l a t a . The yellow dune phase has l e s s bare ground with C a s s i n i a dominant; also present are Muehlenbeckia complexa. Coprosma acerosa and the sprawling shrub, P i m e l i a a r e n a r i a . Arundo conspicua and the sedge, Scirpus nodosus, are tussock forms found here. F i n a l l y , the grey dune phase has a complete ground cover of shrubs dominated by Leptospermum with a few scattered clumps of Pohutakawa.

Two miles northwards from the Te Paki stream mouth, along the beach, i s Scott's Point or Pukekarea. This bold, rocky headland forms the northern termination (at l e a s t f o r motoring anyway) of the s o - c a l l e d Ninety Mile Beach. Around i t s c l i f f s are the usual c o a s t a l species with some coas t a l shrub vegetation such as Pseudopanax l e s s o n i i and Coprosma repens i n the v a l l e y s . In one of the g u l l y bays grows the now rare .Fuschia procumbens with i t s p e c u l i a r heterostylous flowers. The top of the b l u f f i s a broad, windswept plateau, the manuka scrub i s low and windshorn with f l a x more common than f u r t h e r i n l a n d . Inland, i n the damp v a l l e y s between the s a n d h i l l s , are found such swamp sedges as Eleocharis sphacelata, Cladium glomeratum. C. a r t i c u l a t u m and Schoenus tendo. Here i n the moist sand was Gunnera arenaria with i t s y e l l o w i s h -red spikes loaded with r i p e f r u i t . Amongst the gumland sedges on the dry h i l l s were observed Dracophyllum lessonianum, Lindsaya l i n e a r i s and clumps of Todea barbara with i t s massive erect trunks i n a burnt g u l l y . With i t s frequent burning, the l a s t being not long past, these gumlands presented a t r u l y desolate p i c t u r e .

Around Te Paki S t a t i o n an attempt has been made to e s t a b l i s h a tung o i l p l a n t a t i o n but with l i t t l e success - a few trees are the only remaining evidence. The road from here to Cape Reinga lighthouse winds through h i l l s sparsely covered i n sedges mainly, with some other heath plants . The depleted state of the manuka heath cover i s strongly r e f l e c t e d i n the great v a r i e t y of forms and stages of regeneration. Reversion to a bracken phase i s usual a f t e r f i r i n g with some Schoenus tendo, but the bracken decreases with repeated burning l e a d i n g to pure Schoenus and accelerated s o i l erosion. This i s the only cover over

much of the h i l l s here. There i s l i t t l e or no replacement of the depleted indigenous plant cover by e x o t i c communities nor i n f i l t r a t i o n by i n d i v i d u a l e x o t i c species such as Gorse or Hakea. This i s probably due to the i s o l a t i o n of t h i s area from the south and the' short period of time since these e x o t i c s became e s t a b l i s h e d there.

In t h i s h i l l country north of Te Paki are numerous streams forming i n t e r e s t i n g swamps and f r e s h water l a k e s . The swamps are f r i n g e d with raupo evident as a very d i s t i n c t i v e pale green colour, a l s o observed w>re K y l l i n g a b r e v i f o l i a , Scirpus l e n t i c u l a r i s , Paspalum scrobiculatum, Sparganium antipodum, Isachne a u s t r a l i a , Epilobium p i l l i d i f l o r u m , Juncus p l e b i u s . Cladium gunnii and C. junceum. Even hough these raupo swamps are r e g u l a r l y burnt the water protects the bases from being completely destroyed and thus the change i s only temporary. There i s no widespread i n f i l t r a t i o n of a l i e n p l a n t s . There i s only l i t t l e f l a x present i n these northern swamps.

• • y Turning o f f from the Reinga road, the swampy course of the

Werahi stream was followed to an o l d Maori pah and then out to the north west coast. On the sand dunes here were found P i m e l i a a r e n a r i a , Coprosma acerosa. C. rhamnoides, and the introduced Echinopogon ovatus. Carex pumila was present near the stream o u t l e t while f u r t h e r inland were pockets of Typha, sedges such as Mariscus u s t u l a t u s , Eleocharis acuta, Cladium spp. and Leptocarpus simplex.

Around Cape Maria Van Dieman the vegetation shows- little of note, the area c o n s i s t i n g of much bare sand with the usual c o a s t a l c l i f f species at the Cape, and, s i m i l a r l y , on the i s l a n d i t s e l f where there i s the abandoned lighthouse. Such plants include Phormium, C a s s i n i a , Arundo, Mesembryanthemum, Muehlenbeckia, Apium prostratum. L o b e l i a anceps and Scirpus nodosus, also Asplenium obtusatum.

Three miles eastwards along the beach and across the mouth of ti" Werahi Stream i s Cape Reinga and the present lighthouse which i s reached by a steep climb from the beach. From Reinga point the track drops down a grassy ridge into a sheltered i n l e t known as Otongawhiti. A picturesque l i t t l e stream f l o w i n g down into t h i s bay was followed from i t s source. At the head of the v a l l e y were found quite l a r g e bushes of Veronica diosmaefolia abundantly i n flower. Growing i n profusion on the rocky banks of the stream was the rare Colensoa physaloides. much of i t i n f u l l flower. By the stream grew t h i c k e t s of Rhabdothamnus s o l a n d r i , S u t t o nia australis. Coprosma rhamnoides and Carmichaelia a u s t r a l i s . The mouth of the creek and the bay were f r i n g e d with pohutukawas. A f t e r a walk over poor pasture land and ridges, Tapotopoto Bay was reached - t h i s i s a wide bay with a sand dune b u i l t up on i t s seaward face which i s now grassed i n buffalo grass Stenotaphrum secundatum). A stream which enters the bay from scrub-covered h i l l s behind, forms a brackish water lagoon l i n e d with

4 8 .

Juncus maritimus, Leptocarpus and Plagianthus d i v a r i c a t u s . Further back the t i d a l creek i s f r i n g e d with quite l a r g e mangrove t r e e s . Hakea pubescens was introduced to the extreme north here at Tapotopoto i n the 1880s f o r the use as a hedge pl a n t ; but i t has spread only l i t t l e from here, being abundant on only a few h i l l s i d e s north of Te P a k i . From here the ridges ascend steeply to one of the highest points i n the North Cape area being over 10C0 f t . almost shear above the sea. This t r i g p oint, known as Tirikawa or Darkin's H i l l , on i t s southern side has l i g h t bush c o n s i s t i n g of B r a c h y g l o t t i s . Suttonia. Melicytus r a m i f l o r u s. Helichrysum glomeratum., Leucopogon fasciculatus and a few Cordyline. Between here and Pandora are steep ridges separated by narrow V-shaped g u l l i e s . The streams d r a i n i n g t h i s area descend to trie sea over c l i f f s by small w a t e r f a l l s . These ridges are covered i n manuka and low bracken scrub with Hakea a c i c u l a r i s now a s s e r t i n g i t s e l f . The frequent f i r i n g of t h i s scrub has enabled t h i s e x o t i c to spread and maintain i t s p o s i t i o n as a s i g n i f i c a n t member of t h i s community. L i t t l e of t h i s country i s i n pasture but the steep c o a s t a l c l i f f s support pohutakawas and l i g h t bush remains at the head of the v a l l e y s . This open coastal bush i s again seen at Pandora or Whangakea which i s about a mile from the western end of S p i r i t s Bay i t s e l f . Here by a stream were B r a c h y g l o t t i s , Fuchsia, p u r i n i and a few tree f e r n s , while on the f l a t s were Cordyline and clumps of Mariscus. A mile i n l a n d from Pandora i s a high point on which a radar s t a t i o n was l o c a t e d during the l a t e War but the i n s t a l l a t i o n s aro now abandoned. From here i s seen one of the few f o r e s t e d areas of the Far North. In the v a l l e y s k a u r i i s regenerating w e l l while the associated trees such as K n i g h t i a , Rata, T a r a i r e , P u r i r i , Hoheria, Melicytus and Fuchsia give q u i t e a mosaic appearance to t h i s f o r e s t community. This i s due to the marked unevenness of the bush canopy and to the great v a r i e t y of green shades present.

Eastwards from Pandora, S p i r i t s Bay sweeps away i n a great curve almost eight miles i n length. Towards i t s western end the Waitohora Stream enters the bay forming an extensive, shallow lagoon behind the beach. Zostera was p l e n t i f u l on the muddy f l o o r and on the wide sandy f l a t s were the usual s a l t marsh herbs - S e l l i e r a , Samolus, A t r i p l e x , with Cladium .junceum and Juncus maritimus i n the s a l i n e bogs. Carex v i r g a t a was c o l o n i s i n g the stagnant swamps f u r t h e r upstream.

The Bay i s backed by low clay h i l l s covered i n Danthonia pasture and manuka scrub which at the time of our v i s i t was s u f f e r i n g i t s y e a r l y burn. On an o l d Maori track over to S p i r i t s Bay from Te Paki Station i s a t a l l c o n i c a l hill known as Rangitane. On i t s summit which was the~sTt~e~~of~sr pah, aeep~~~trench.es and food p i t s are s t i l l evident. Near here i n the scrub were noted Epacris p a u c i f l o r a , Pomaderris edgerleyi P. p h y l i c a e f o l i a , Leucopogon f r a s e r i , Lepidosperma l a t e r a l e , Corokia cotoneaster, L i b e r t i a i x i o i d e s and Lycopodium densum.

At the eastern end of S p i r i t s Bay a small stream enters the sea, the area being known as Kapowairua. Near hore the handsome Hibiscus d i v e r s i f o l i u s was o r i g i n a l l y discovered by Colenso, i n 1839.

J u s t to the east of Kapowairua i s a rugged d i s t r i c t of dome-shaped h i l l s composed of b a s a l t i c conglomerate. The highest peak i s known as Unuwhao (1063 f t . ) . On the southern face of t h i s feature i s a l a r g e r area of bush. This i s of a very mixed character with no one tree being markedly dominant. There i s a w e l l marked s t r a t i f i c a t i o n i n t h i s community. The emergent trees are over 50 f t . i n height and these u s u a l l y c o n s i s t of i s o l a t e d stands of k a u r i and a few pohutakawas. The main tree canopy between 20 f t . and 50 f t . i s composed of T a r a i r e , Mangaeo, P u r i r i , Kohekohe, Rewarewa and Leptospermum e r i c o i d e s . Between 8 f t . and 20 f t . are found Hoheria, Suttonia, S c h e f f l e r a , and Nikau with a few tree f e r n s . The lower shrub l a y e r (3 f t . - 6 f t . ) c o n s i s t s of Rangiora, numerous Coprosma spp., F r e y c i n e t i a and many seedlings of "Hae main f o r e s t t r e e s . The ground l a y e r , below 3 f t . , i s r e l a t i v e l y sparse with some ferns which include L e p t o p t e r i s -hymenophylloides and mosses ' but few small tree seedlings. This open aspect of the lower layers i a due to the t h i n n i n g out of the undergrowth by c a t t l e . More palatable

5 0 .

species, l i k e Macropiper, S c h e f f l e r a , reduced i n numbers, while those which

r e l a t i v e increase,

Colensoa and tree seedlings are are h a r d i e r and l e s s palatable

p e r s i s t and show a r e l a t i v e increase, e.g. Rangiora, F r e y c i n e t i a and Coprosma spp.

On the whole, however, the Far North bush i s l i t t l e modified - v i r t u a l l y no timber has been f e l l e d f o r m i l l i n g and l i t t l e has been destroyed by burning. Pockets of bush do remain, away from the influence of animals. But the f o r e s t , as a whole, occupies only a very small area and i t has a very fragmentary d i s t r i b u t i o n . This r e l a t i v e absence of f o r e s t i s due to the widespread occurrence of l i t h o s o l s , very leached podsols and m i n e r a l i s e d organic s o i l s .

The more important features d i s t i n g u i s h i n g the f o r e s t of the extreme north from that to the south are the general l a c k of dominance, the r e l a t i v e abundance of Leptospermum e r i c o i d e s and Hoheria, and the r a r i t y of podocarps. The development of t h i s f o r e s t i n i s o l a t i o n during the l a t e r T e r t i a r y period p o s s i b l y explains these d i f f e r e n c e s .

I t was much regr e t t e d that with the l i m i t e d time at our d i s p o s a l we were unable to t r a v e l f u r t h e r eastwards to North Cape proper and study i t s l o c a l i s e d scrub vegetation. Perhaps t h i s area w i l l be v i s i t e d during a f u r t h e r t r i p .

SUPPLEMENT TO SPECIES LIST FOR NOISES ISLAND (OTATA). - P.B. Hannken and C.B. Trevarthen.

This l i s t i s published as a supplementary l i s t to the o r i g i n a l i n "Tane" V o l . 3. 1950. I t i s compiled from records made during v i s i t s with Auckland B o t a n i c a l Society who published an account i n "Newsletter" of June 1951, the Natural H i s t o r y Society, and with F i e l d Club. Introduced plants are marked *

Lycopodium b i l l a r d i e r i

FILICOPSIDA. Asplenium flaccidum var. Chielanthes s i e b e r i C. (Nothoclaena) distans P t e r i s macilenta

(1 plant) E p i p h y t i c i n Eastern Pohutukawa f o r e s t .

l i t t o r a l i s ( l . a . ) C l i f f s . ( l . a . ) C l i f f s below T r i g , ( l . a . ) " " " (r) M elicytus f o r e s t .

SPERMATOPSIDA. Gramineae. * Danthonia p i l o s a Avena fa t u a

* Paspalum dilatatum * D i g i t a r i a sanguinalis Aizoaceae.

Tetragonia expansa Violaceae.

Melicytus r a m i f l o r u s Thymeliaceae.

Pimeli a u r v i l l e a n a Araliaceae.

Pseudopanax c r a s s i f o l i u m

Orobanchaceae. •Orobanche minor

(1) It) (o)

F i r e c l e a r i n g near T r i g . Slopes of Northern C l i f f s , Grassed areas.

(o) Eastern c l i f f s .

(a) Dominant of eastern c o a s t a l f o r e s t (Omitted i n e r r o r 1950)

(o) Coastal rock c r e v i c e s .

var. t r i f o l i a t u m A p l a n t , strongly suspected to be t h i s species, was found i n Eastern Pohutukawa Forest.

(several) Grass near t r i g .