Dog Friendly Walk in Te Awamutu : Yarndley's Bush
I am always looking for walks that I can bring my dog along with. She is a terror when left home alone and also it is a nice bonding time with the dog.
So, this week Willow (my dog) and I went off to Yarndley’s Bush. This is a pocket of preserved Kahikatea trees surrounded by hectares of farmland. Before humans came and colonised, this area was just forest like this spot, so to be able to walk around orginal forest like this, is very special. And kind of sad that most of it has been hewn down for farmland.
The Walk
Dogs are welcome on this walk, but you need to have them leashed. There are no bins, so you will have to carry out the poop with you - which is gross, but such is the life of a dog owner. 90% gross, 10% cute.
Where is Yarndleys Bush?
The entrance to this bush is on Ngaroto road. The carpark is across the road from the entrance. There is a little road walking -- but there is a path.
The Walk
The start of the walk is steep, grassy and downhill. There are steps to the left, which is good as this spot can get super slippery when wet.
And after a short grass walk, you are into this gorgous section of bush. Where you can hear the calls of birds, feel the cool breath of the forest and generally have a lovely forest experience. And at only a twenty minute drive from Hamilton.
The walk is boardwalked to protect the vulnerable tree roots and is a circuit. You can go either way. At around the half-way point, there is a platform which you can climb and see an elevated view of the forest.
There is a picnic table up there, so it is a good spot to bring a snack or a meal even, and just enjoy this nature spot.
The walk is actually very short. It is around 25 minutes all up. Perhaps shorter. For me, it was longer as I am a dwadler and I also have to peer closer to every cool nature thing I see. Which is a lot of peering haha.
Yarndley Bush is dominated by Kahikatea trees, NZ’s tallest tree. These trees in this bush are not fully grown and are quite young, with Kahikatea trees living up to 500 years. These trees are very impressive, with some being 35m tall and with huge buttressed roots.
The bush was brought by the district council to protect it from being torn down like so many other native trees in New Zealand. The combined effort of swamp drainage (the Kahikatea environment) and milling, wiped out most of these strands of trees. Kahikatea was especially popular for milling as it was odorless and used for producing butter boxes in the 20th century. When you are walking along this bush, you are essentially stepping back in time.
Yarndley Bush is also a great spot for bird lovers - and you can often hear tuis, piwakawakas (fantails), riroriro (grey wrablers) and the rush of the powerful keruru(Wood pigeon) wings.
