Desolation Row

Ohakune Mountain Road

The Southern Gateway

Tongariro World Heritage National Park

29 August 2021

Seven years ago, roadworks destroyed a hectare of complex ancient communities
of mosses, ferns, shrubs, herbs and orchids, plus a dozen 800-year-old Rimu trees,
so that skiers could get to their playground 15 seconds quicker.

This iconic roadside mass of 'kiwi' orchids was more than 100 years old.

Mature rimu and other tall trees sheltered this unique roadside community
of mosses, herbs, orchids, ferns, seedlings and miniature shrubs.

Then the rimu harvesters and their bulldozers came.

The above rimu was one metre in diameter, and 3 metres away from the road.
Other felled rimu were even further back. If the stumps had been left in place
there would have been no soil disturbance, and a lot less reinstatement needed.

Today, 6 years later, there has still been no reinstatement.

The clay on some bulldozed sites was covered with raw woodchips.
   But the good soil had been dumped, and seedlings sheltering under
    the rimu trees were planted back into the sterile woodchips, exposed
       to sun, wind and a lack of the water that used to run off from the road.

Two years after these were planted, I planted similar species on my property
just 3 km away. My trees are now 3 m high and 1 m wide.

Other roadside plantings have reverted to a mat of grass and weeds that are
stifling re-establishment of the former complex native community.

How pretty! Gorse is joining thistles and ragwort.