The exotic Whakarewarewa Forest in Rotorua is mainly a forest fun park. It offers fantastic walks through big mature exotics, including the Redwood Memorial Grove, a treetops walk, mountain biking, and the Scion Research Institute.
But that’s not how it started. By the late 1800s, much of the ancient native forest in NZ had been cut down, raising the question of what trees to plant to maintain the lumber industry. Plant scientists came together to make dreams of cheap wood come true. From around the early 1900s, 170 exotic species were planted as a test in Whakarewarewa Forest, many of them along the edge of Longmile Road and Tarawera Road.
This included magnificent species like sequoias and redwoods. Although these grew rapidly, the best-performing exotic in NZ was the rather insignificant white pine. Nowadays, for better or worse, these dominate the NZ forestry industry.
The New Zealand Forest Research Institute was established to support the development of the forestry industry. In the 1950s, a particularly unattractive facility was built at the end of Longmile Road right next to Whakarewarewa Forest.
More recently, the Institute was rebranded as Scion (meaning a twig suitable for grafting), and a stunning new building was developed in front of the earlier complex. Even better, there is a great cafe, plus panels and photo galleries describing the forestry industry's history, and it’s only a short walk from the Redwoods.
