Hook Bush Route

An unmarked track leads from the end of Jacksons Bush Road to a stream which is followed for a while before the track ascends to a ridge. This pretty tributary of the Makikihi River is bordered by large kōwhai and lacebark/houhere.

Once you leave the stream the route ascends steeply up through thick gorse which in places closely embraces the track—long pants recommended! The wide views out to the coast and over Hook Bush Conservation Area make the climb worthwhile. The ridge can then be followed on up to The Hunters Hills and the trig point at 960 m.

Access Access to Hook Bush is about 14 km northwest of Waimate. On the eastern outskirts of Waimate turn right off Timaru Road (SH 82) onto Maytown Road. Take the second right onto Waimate Hunter Road and follow this Hook Bush Conservation Area road for about 12.5 km. At Hunter turn left onto Jacksons Bush Road, which is followed to its end. The entrance is marked by the Hook Bush Conservation Area sign.

Hook Bush had extensive tracts of tōtara, mataī and miro. It escaped the fire of 1878 and was surveyed in 1880 and freeholded for logging in 1889. The bush has some of the best remaining areas of podocarp forest along the The Hunters Hills. It contains mataī which are now rare in Canterbury. The area also has some exceptionally large broadleaf, māhoe and coprosma which may have become established after pre-European fires.