Volunteers working on the construction
of the track

The Tikitapu Nature Walk was built as a joint venture between the Rotorua branches of the Botanical Society and Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, with support coming from the Department of Conservation and Environment Bay of Plenty.

Members of both organisations have formed the Okareka Mistletoe Project and regularly hold working bees where they go about controlling weeds and pest such as possums and rats by laying poison baits. These are all threats to the mistletoe plants.

Populations of these mistletoes are scattered and localised. In the Bay of Plenty they are found mainly around certain Rotorua lakes, particularly in regenerating forest or shrubland where light levels are higher.

The idea behind the nature walk was was to have an interactive educational walk for families, school groups and others where they can learn about the flora and fauna around them as well as the geographic history. The walk contains information panels on bird life and the effects of the Mt Tarawera eruption on the forest. Trees have also been labelled to give the walker an idea of the variety of species present.