Ōrongomai, Cass Peak Walk

Cass Peak is historically known to local Māori as Ō-Rongo-Mai, the place where voices are heard.

The name is illustrative of the bloody pre-European history of the hills that ensued with the North Island Ngāi Tahu invasion of the area 300 years ago.

According to legend, Ngāi Tahu warriors led by Te Rakiwhakaputa slaughtered a hunting party from the Ngāti Māmoe Pā of Mānuka (situated on the plains side of the range), after detecting their presence in the area by the sound of their voices.

This area is now a reserve covered in native bush. This information is from the Christchurch City Libraries website.

There is a radar and communications dome on top of Ōrongomai that is used for tracking aircraft and radio communications.

I parked at the car park for Sign of the Bellbird then wandered off around Ōrongomai/Cass Peak. It is very peaceful there with a lot of diversity of plant life. I could hear people talking occasionally I think they were cycling or walking/running on the Summit Road. There are some rocky and slippery places along the path.

There are some statuesque Tōtara and I am fond of the Fuchsia excorticata/Kōtukutuku.

The rock faces are well worth a close look and are covered in a myriad of plant life.

I found a small patch of Ranunculus reflexus, Maruru. I have never seen before.

I am not sure if I identified the Biddy-bid correctly, I think it is Acaena novae-zealandiae because of the dark green, shiny top of the leaf (adaxial).

After walking around Cass Peak I reached the Summit Road then walked up the road to look at the radio and communications dome.

As I was walking back to the car park there was a mature Pennantia corymbosa, kaikōmako. I was glad to see this because I have mostly seen only the juvenile plants with the different foliage, and as I was taking a picture I saw a Kererū sitting high in the tree.

Posted on June 16, 2024 06:30 AM by katrina_muir