The Dome Forest is a 401-hectare conservation area north of Auckland City, seven km northwest of Warkworth. It is accessed on State Highway 1, which runs through the stunning Dome Valley.
The Dome Forest Track, also a section of Te Araroa, offers several hiking options based on how far you want to walk. The first section is a well-maintained, easy walk to a viewpoint across the Mahurangi Peninsula to the Hauraki Gulf. From the car park below the old Dome Tearooms, steep steps lead up a ridge into a pretty podocarp and broadleaf forest. The track continues along the undulating ridge to the viewpoint platform. This walk is about 1 km each way and takes about 40 minutes.
The next option is to continue to the top of the Dome, the highest point in the forest at 365 metres. This walk is more challenging, probably overgrown in some places and prone to quite deep mud. The final section up to the Dome is narrow and steep but relatively short. From the Dome, there is a trig and nice view to the north. Allow about an hour each way, and expect to get dirty, especially after periods of rain.
From the Dome, you can continue for several more hours along the ridge, including a short section through the remnant mature Waiwhiu Kauri Grove with 20 large kauri trees. The track then descends through exotic pines to Waiwhiu Valley Rd (a private forest road). Head northeast along the road for 200 metres, where the track starts again and crosses the Waiwhiu Stream. After following the stream for 1.6 km, you will enter the Totara Peak Scenic Reserve. The track climbs steeply up to a ridge with great views. At Conical Peak, head north to end the track at Govan Wilson Rd near text. This is best done with transport at both ends.
The Māori name for the Dome is Tohitohi o Rei, a maunga tapu for the local iwi Ngāti Manuhiri. The name refers to an interesting Māori story about two sisters, Reipae and Reitū, linked to the Tainui migratory waka. Reipae travelled around the North Island with her sister Reitū on the back of a large bird and rested at the peak. Tainui tradition remembers them for their marriages with northern men, connecting the Tainui of the Waikato to the Ngāpuhi of Northland and Ngāti Manuhiri.
Ue-oneone, based at Pawarenga on the Whangape Harbour, was enamoured by Reitū’s beauty. He performed a karakia ('incantation'), which caused his pet kāiaia (falcon) to fly to the paepae of Reitū's house in the Waikato. As Reitū and Reipae approached the bird, it led them to Northland. At Kaipara, Reipae married Korowharo while at Ngutu-pakapaka, Reitū and Ue-oneone were married. Whangārei (Harbour of Rei) was also named for Reipae.
