Peel Forest Park
Peel Forest Park (773 hectares) is a remnant of a magnificent podocarp forest that once covered an area of 3,500 hectares. It is located along the foothills of the Southern Alps on the south bank of the Rangitata River.

The climate of the high country areas of Peel Forest Park is quite different from the lowland areas. The rainfall increases with increasing distance from the coast, however the entire climatic cycle and especially Peel Forest Park’s diverse rainfall distribution is influenced by the nature of the winds. This is particularly the case with the dry northwest winds. Peel Forest records 1160 mm per annum. Snow may fall at any time of the year and short duration heavy snowfalls are often experienced between June and September.

Flora and Fanua
The flora and fauna of Peel Forest Park are rich and abundant. The three largest trees in Peel Forest belong to the family “Podocarpaceae”. It is a very ancient family with a line of descent going back in time more than 100 million years. The three trees are kahikatea (white pine), tōtara and mataï (black pine).

Peel Forest Park has a wide range of vegetation, from dense virgin stands to exposed herb-field communities. Peel Forest enjoys a mild moist climate - ideal conditions for ferns. Thirty-six per cent of all ferns that grow in New Zealand occur in Peel Forest Park.

Spring and summer present a continuous array of beautiful flowering shrubs.
The southern kowhai (Sophora microphylla) enjoys the conditions on the northern slopes overlooking the Rangitata River.

The forest also has an abundant bird life. Native birds most frequently seen and heard are wood pigeon/kererū, the rifleman/titipounamu, bellbird/korimako, fantail/pïwakawaka, grey warbler/riroriro, silvereye/tauhou and tomtit/miromiro.

The Rangitata riverbed provides a habitat for a number of waders and coastal visitors such as the black-billed gull/karoro and the pied oystercatcher/tōrea.

Red deer, chamois, possums, wallabies, hares, rabbits, feral cats, stoats, ferrets and hedgehogs are all present in or around Peel Forest.

For further information contact: Department of Conservation  (e-mail: NthCantVC@doc.govt.nz)

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IN BRIEF:

Peel Forest Park is located along the foothills of the Southern Alps.

Snow may fall at any time of the year.

Thirty-six per cent of all ferns that grow in New Zealand occur in Peel Forest Park.

Spring and summer present a continuous array of beautiful flowering shrubs.

The forest has an abundant bird life.

The Rangitata riverbed provides a habitat for a number of waders and coastal visitors.