Manawa Karioi is an approximately 12-hectare ecological restoration project on the edge of the suburb of Paekawakawa / Island Bay, Te Whanganui a Tara / Wellington, North Island / Te Ika a Maui, Aotearoa / New Zealand. The name Manawa Karioi translates to "my heart desires to linger". This was the name given to the spring that still flows in the largest gully by Hinekiri, daughter of Tara, founder of Te Whanganui a Tara / Wellington approximately 400 years ago. At this time, being well before European arrival, the area was surrounded by thriving native vegetation and wildlife, possibly even tall rainforest.

Manawa Karioi and Tapu Te Ranga Marae from Mt Albert Road, Melrose, in January 2007
In 1974 Bruce Stewart established Tapu Te Ranga Marae near the land containing Manawa Karioi spring, which at that stage was owned by the Home of Compassion. In 1989 the land was purchased by Tapu Te Ranga to restore native forest and extend marae facilities. The Manawa Karioi Society was established in 1990 to manage the forest restoration project. In 2000 the Home of Compassion generously forgave the debt associated with purchase of the land.
Tapu Te Ranga is a contemporary marae and and maintains a close relationship with the Manawa Karioi Society. We intend to continue promoting the area as a place of peace and inspiration for all the people of Wellington / Te Whanganui a Tara.

Visiting

Manawa Karioi is open to the public during daylight hours, every day of the year. Parking is available at the marae and a variety of walking tracks are available. A wide, benched loop-track takes about one hour to complete and may be entered from the Marae, from the top end of Rhine Street or from the City to Sea Walkway near Frobisher Street. Sometimes we need to close sections of tracks while we are doing work that may be hazardous to visitors. Such closures and other safety notices are rare and will be notified on the home page and/or at the site.
Due to the abundance of gorse and other flammable vegetation there is an extreme fire risk at Manawa Karioi during much of the year.
Smoking and open flames are therefore strictly prohibited at all times.
Dogs must be kept on a lead at all times and dog litter removed from tracks.

Becoming Involved

We have a wide variety of opportunities for volunteers to become involved in the project. Everyone seems to love planting, but there's plenty of other outdoor as well as indoor work to be done. Some of our needs are looking after plantings to ensure ensure they survive, controlling invasive weeds, maintaining tracks and looking after the plant nursery. Occasionally we need help with indoor tasks such as preparing displays, applying for funds, general administration and book keeping. If you're interested in taking on responsibility for a small piece of Manawa Karioi, perhaps as a different way to spend time with family or friends or as a team-building exercise, you may be interested in our Adopt-a-Plot scheme. If you're interested in helping in any of these ways or have other ideas about how you could help, please contact us at manawakarioisociety@gmail.com

Manawa Karioi Society

Location: Tapu Te Ranga Marae, Danube St, Island Bay
Contact: The Secretary Manawa Karioi Society
PO Box 7337 Wellington South
Wellington 6242

manawakarioisociety@gmail.com