Otuataua Stonefields.

Heritage Sites * Volcanic Cones * Walkways

The Otuataua Stonefields Historic Reserve is one of Manukau's premier parks. It is an internationally significant heritage landscape and an important natural, archaeological and historic area.

For Te Wai O Hua, tangata whenua (indigenous people of the land), it is a taonga (treasure), and for the people of Manukau and for all New Zealanders alike, it is an important historic place.

This 100 hectare area has been established to protect and preserve the archaeological remains of the communities which thrived on this land for hundreds of years. It is one of the last volcanic areas of Tamaki Makaurau (Auckland) where you can see the large scale stonework and earthwork remains that show how people once lived and worked. Maori occupation of the Stonefields dates back about 800 years, and Europeans farmed the area for over 100 years.

The reserve is waahi tapu (a sacred place) to descendants of Te Wai O Hua and Waikato Iwi of the Tainui waka (canoe). Please be respectful while visiting. Tangata whenua have especially requested that food is not consumed on the reserve (water bottles are welcome) and that visitors refrain from walking on the top of Puketaapapa volcano, a site of particular traditional significance (follow the walk marker posts around the northern side).

There are three different walks, ranging from twenty to forty minutes. Features of the walks are referenced. See the PDF brochure and map below for further details:

Historical Walk

1.76 km - 30-40 minutes

Maori lived and gardened at Otuataua for centuries, and European families farmed here for over 100 years. This walk will show you some of what has been left behind, and can give you an insight as to how these people lived and worked on the land.

1. Otuataua Pa - Most of Auckland’s 49 Volcanic cones had pa (defended settlements) built on them. You can still see a few of the terraces where Maori lived for centuries.
2. The mound garden- To enable Maori to cultivate vegetables which were mostly tropical in origin, mounds were built as special garden plots, which used the stone’s heat-absorbing properties to warm the earth and to retain moisture.
3. European dry stone walls - Built in the 1800s as boundaries and for stock control. 
4. The big house - A rectangular outline of stones in the grass is the foundation of what was once a large Maori house. You can also see the shell midden from ancient meals on the slopes around this house site.
5. The Gardens - An area covered with remnants of the gardens that Maori gardeners cultivated for hundreds of years, showing gardening techniques where stone has been moved to create micro-climates and control water movement.
6. The barberry hedge - Planting with thorny plants to deter animals was another way European farmers fenced their properties before wire fencing. Hedge plants such as barberry and gorse have spread in the milder New Zealand climate and are now often seen as weeds.
7. The lookout - From here you can see, views over an area with a huge amount of surface stone which was not cleared as part of farming operations; three enormous Port Jackson fig trees over 100 years old marking the site of one of the early farmhouses; and joined to the mainland by a naturally occurring causeway is Puketutu Island and the coast where the oxidation ponds were formerly sited.
8. More shell and stone - The huge amount of shell present among the stones of Otuataua bears testimony to the harbour’s role in feeding the population. It is thought that Maori built many of the stone structures during the 19th century. At this time they were growing crops both for themselves, and to sell to the European settlement in Auckland.
9. The storage pits - This group of depressions in the ground is the remains of a group of food storage pits. Originally these pits would have had timber walls and thatched roofs. In the Pacific, kumara was left in the ground and used as needed. In Aotearoa with the cooler climate, kumara can rot if left in the ground, so it must be harvested and stored. These pits, usually built on slopes and ridges such as these so that they drain easily, provided a stable environment to store crops. It is especially interesting that the people who lived here felt secure enough to store their food supplies outside the defences of the pa.
10. European holidays - The area below and toward the coast was the site of a number of baches used by Auckland families during the 1920s and 30s.

Botanical Walk

1.05 km - 20-25 minutes

The Otuataua Stonefields are home to some of the few remaining pockets of original native vegetation in the greater Auckland region, as well as many exotic plant species introduced by the European settlers. Along this walk you will also see the remains of both Maori and European gardening and farming areas.

1. Native vegetation - Of the estimated 8,000 hectares of lava flows in the Auckland area only a few hectares are still covered in original vegetation. Some of the vegetation would have been lost during Maori occupation through clearance and natural fires. European occupation would have further reduced the original vegetation through farming and urbanisation. One rare plant discovered in this reserve is maawhai (sicyos australis). It was found here in June 1991 and had not been seen in Auckland since 1866. Maawhai is a member of the cucumber family, the tiny fruit is prickly. It is mainly restricted to northern offshore islands and the Kermadecs and is ranked nationally as ‘vulnerable’.
2. Vistas - In addition to its botanical, geological and historical features, the Otuataua Stonefields offer breathtaking views of the Manukau Harbour and Manukau Heads. You are also able to see several other significant Auckland landforms, including Mt Wellington (Maunga Rei), Mangere Mountain (Te Maunga O Mangere), One Tree Hill (Maungakiekie) and Puketutu Island.
3. Gardening and Farming - Historically this area was attractive for settlement and farming to both Maori and Europeans. The extended growing season resulting from the free draining soil, and the long summers which heat the rock and therefore the soil beneath it, all create an attractive micro-environment. European farming, although taking advantage of the same qualities, had a slightly different focus, as the Stonefields also provided grass for grazing stock. The surface rock also meant there was a ready source of building material.
4. Native vegetation 2 - This is the second pocket of significant vegetation on the reserve. Many of the native trees are stunted, due to the sparse soil in the free draining rocky lava flows, and the lack of moisture during the summer months. Some of the species you can see here are karaka, Mahoe, pigeon wood, ngaio, whau, titoki, puriri, and various ferns. The karaka were probably part of the original broad leaf coastal forest, however it is thought that the groves may have been planted by Maori. The karaka tree’s fruit attracted birds such as kereru (wood pigeon) so they could be trapped. The outer flesh of the fruit was also eaten by humans, then the nuts were processed to remove poisons before being stored and eaten. The timber was also used. A few exotic trees in this reserve, such as the Morton Bay Fig, would have been planted by Europeans for ornamental purposes.

Geological Walk

960m - 30-45-mins

Two of Auckland’s smaller volcanic cones dominate the geology of the Otuataua Stonefields Historic reserve. They are Otuataua, and Puketaapapa, also referred to as Pukeiti. The name Otuataua has been used for this historic reserve because it is the most dominant landscape feature. Another volcano, Maungataketake, or Ellet’s Mountain, was located one kilometre to the southwest of Otuataua. However this cone has almost been completely quarried away for its scoria resource. All three volcanoes are thought to have been part of the same eruption event. They erupted about 20,000 years ago and today scoria rock and lava bombs from these eruptions are still evident throughout the reserve This walk will explore some of the features of the reserve’s unique geology.

1. Otuataua is a relatively steep-sided cone which originally had a small horseshoe shaped crater. This was breached on the northwest side. 
2. Otuataua lava flows extend northwest 900 metres to the Manukau Harbour and overlie those from Puketaapapa.
3. Otuataua tuff ring - The remains of part of the tuff ring can be seen around the south and Eastern edges of the cone.
4. Puketaapapa (Pukeiti) is the smallest volcano in the Auckland field. It is less than 10 metres above the surrounding lava base and has a small 12 metre wide symmetrical, saucer, shaped crater. 
5. Puketaapapa quarried section - The Pukeiti cone was built up of very coarse, slaggy scoria, as if from the splashings of a well of lava. These features can be observed in the quarried cross section through the rim on the north-eastern side. Note please keep to the base area of the cone and refrain from walking on the sacred upper area.
6. Lava flows extend out from the Puketaapapa cone on the northern side 600 metres to Oruarangi Creek, and westward to the shores of the Manukau Harbour. The lava fields surrounding the cones in this area are very rough, due to the highly variable lava flows and the scatters of scoria rock bombs from the explosive eruptions. There are bare areas of rock, fractured joints, raised bubbles, buckled ridges where flows were blocked and sunken depressions where the underlying rock has collapsed.
7. Geology and land use - One unique feature of the lava fields is that they lack any surface streams. Rain drains away quickly, passing through fractures and joints in the basalt rock, before collecting over the underlying pleistocene clays and silts. Fresh water springs and swampy ground can be found around the edges of the fields where freshwater springs emerge beneath the lava flows. Maori were attracted to this area in the first instance because of the rich volcanic ash soils, the unique micro-environments created by the rock and drainage patterns as well as the available seafood resources. These areas, relative to the adjacent clay soils, were warmer and had an extended growing season that was more suited for Polynesian crops. Rocks provided building materials for houses, shelters, retaining walls, field boundaries and fences.
8. Lava caves - On the Puketaapapa field there are two recorded lava caves or tubes. They are known as ‘Lino Cave’ and ‘Rubbish Pit Cave’. The lino cave is approximately 90 metres long, and the other measures 50 metres. Human remains have been recorded near and under the rocks at the entrance of each, and historic midden is scattered about. Similar tubes have been identified on the south-western side of Otuataua cone. They were formed when the lava flow slowed and drained away, leaving an outer rock skin forming pipe. In some cases the roofs have collapsed forming small basin shaped depressions or sinks.
9. European Farming - Europeans purchased and settled this area in the early 1800s. They created long drystone walls to divide the land up into farm blocks. There are also small stone walled enclosures to pen animals and protect orchard trees from being eaten, and extensive areas where the surface rocks were cleared to improve grazing.
10. Micro-environments - A further example of how the micro-environment qualities impacted on farming activities is the avocado orchard on the northern slopes of Otuataua cone.  

Location & Directions

The Stonefields are located in Mangere towards the end of Ihumatao Quarry Road - 56 Ihumatao Quarry Road, Mangere

1. From George Bolt Memorial Drive (the main road to the airport from Mangere) turn right into Ihumatao Road
2. Go down this road almost to the end
3. Turn right into Oruarangi Road
4. Then take the first left into Ihumatao Quarry Road.

The carpark and entrance are at the end of the road.

Access

Some of the walks require a reasonable level of agility because they pass over rocks and uneven surfaces.

Brochure

Discover The Otuataua Stonefields

info (PDF 290kb)

map (PDF 115kb)

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