The Moehau Range is the northernmost range on the Coromandel Peninsula

Coromandel Peninsula

The Coromandel Peninsula lies in the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of the Waikato Region and Thames-Coromandel District and extends 85 kilometres north from the western end of the Bay of Plenty, forming a natural barrier to protect the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames in the west...

, extending from the settlement of Colville

Colville

-Places:Canada*Colville Lake, Northwest Territories*Colville Lake , for which the communiy is namedNew Zealand*Colville, New Zealand, on the Coromandel Peninsula, and the following nearby features:** Cape Colville...

 northwards to the tip of the peninsula. Mt Moehau is the highest point of the range, at 892m above sea level.

Physical Geography

The Moehau Range is the central feature of the Colville Ecological District. Environment Waikato’s local area planting guide describes the area as “long ridges and steep streams radiating out to the coast, steep and broken hillslopes, floodplains, harbours and estuaries.” The Colville Ecological District takes in 77,201 Ha, 59% of which is in indigenous vegetation, and 8% of which is virgin forest.

Biodiversity

The Moehau Range is considered one of New Zealand’s six ‘biodiversity

Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...

 hot spots’. The Moehau peak contains a selection of indigenous vegetation that is unique for a North Island forest, and is home to silver and pink pine, kaikawaka, sweet hutu and southern rātā

Metrosideros umbellata

Southern rātā , is a tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows up to 15 m. or more tall with a trunk up to 1 m. or more in diameter. It produces masses of red flowers in summer...

, and is the northern limit for many southern montane

Montane

In biogeography, montane is the highland area located below the subalpine zone. Montane regions generally have cooler temperatures and often have higher rainfall than the adjacent lowland regions, and are frequently home to distinct communities of plants and animals.The term "montane" means "of the...

 species such as mountain toatoa and mountain cedar (pahautea). The range is also noteworthy for the rare native frog

Frog

Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...

 Leiopelma archeyi whose young hatch from eggs, bypassing the tadpole stage. Moehau is also home to the Moehau Stag Beetle

Stag beetle

Stag beetles are a group of about 1,200 species of beetle in the family Lucanidae, presently classified in four subfamilies Some species grow up to over 12 cm , but most are about 5 cm .-Overview:...

, the Moehau Weta

Weta

Weta is the name given to about 70 insect species endemic to New Zealand. There are many similar species around the world, though most are in the southern hemisphere. The name comes from the Māori word 'wētā' and is the same in the plural...

 and a population of approximately 500 Kiwi

Kiwi

Kiwi are flightless birds endemic to New Zealand, in the genus Apteryx and family Apterygidae.At around the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are by far the smallest living ratites and lay the largest egg in relation to their body size of any species of bird in the world...

.

The Moehau Environment Grouphttp://www.meg.org.nz/index.html works to protect and enhance the natural environment of the Northern Coromandel Peninsula.