Tongariro National Park
In New Zealand, if one wants to explore nature in real then Tongariro is the oldest national park of the country in central North Island. The place covers the area of 795.96 km2 and was established in October 1887 under the governing body Department of Conservation. It consists of three active volcanic mountains Ngauruhoe, Ruapehu and Tongariro within its premises plus some religious site related to Maori.
About its history
As the place counts its importance for the Maori religion so it was prevented from the selling of the mountains to European settlers in 1886 and later was given under The Crown in September 1887 to preserve as a protected area by Maori chief Te Heuheu Tukino IV.
Initially the area given away was 26.4 km2 which was too small to be considered for the proposal so the Tongariro National Park Act was passed in October 1894 for the area of about 252.13 km2 and later it got extended for generations with currently having about 795.96 km2. Now they have Emerald lakes, alpine meadows and hot springs surrounding the largest volcanoes in the North Island, offering an environment of stunning diversity.
What makes them special?
The park includes the enormous collection of flora and fauna on the land under the rough and partly unstable environment. Among its flora collection some includes Kahikatea, Hall’s totara, pahautea, kamahi, orchids, fungi and epiphytic ferns. They also include red, silver and mountain beech stretched around in 95 km2 of scrubland.
In fauna, the land is considered to have 56 species of birds, two native mammals and some species of animals introduced by Europeans. Some of the rare and important ones from the list include North Island brown kiwi, Kaka, blue duck, double-banded plover, North Island fernbird, fantail, stoats, rabbits, black rats, red deer and possums with many more.
Aside from nature’s love they have other activities for tourist attraction that includes hiking and climbing during the summer whereas skiing and snowboarding in winter. Some also goes for horse riding, game fishing, mountain biking, rafting, hunting and scenic fights.
It is also acknowledged by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site for showing mixed cultural and natural values
