Puketoki Reserve

Puketoki Reserve is only a short distance from Tauranga, accessible from Leyland Rd, off Whakamarama Rd. The reserve consists of 85 acres of bush, donated to the Whakamarama Community by Mr Henry H Sharplin of the Whakamarama Land and Timber Company in 1926. Before that time it was milled, so the only old surviving trees would be those not suitable for timber at that time. Tramways for transporting logs passed through the reserve, and in a few places the location of the tramways can still be seen.There is a parking area and picnic area on Leyland Rd, across from the reserve entrance. The Te Puna stream runs past the picnic area. There are toilet facilities near the reserve entrance. It is one of the oldest reserves in the Western Bay of Plenty, and dogs on a leash are permitted in the reserve. The reserve is not managed by DoC, so there is no reference to it on their web site. Also the tracks are not shown on the latest NZ Topographic maps.

There are two loop tracks, a short loop and a long loop. Most of the short loop is shared with the long loop nearest to the reserve entrance. The long loop is posted as a 1-hour walk, with the short loop at 20 minutes. However, both loops together are about 3.2 km in length and can be walked in about 1 hour, while taking time for photos and reading the information panels.