of conifers, ferns and shrubs on the western side of the ranges. By contrast, the pattern on the eastern side is one of open beech forest in a drier environment. In spite of a reputation of being composed of gloomy bush, impenetrable leatherwood, and wet snow tussocks on mist-shrouded tops, the Tararua Range has a wide diversity of vegetation, ranging from alpine tussock grasslands and subalpine shrublands to forests of montane miro/kamahi, or beech or lowland broadleaf forests with emergent podocarps and kamahi. The forest in the northern part of the Tararua Range consists mainly of tawa and miro indigenous woodlands. Further south species such as beech are widely seen. Finally, along the west slopes of the ranges facing the Tasman Sea, mixed native species such as rimu, tarrier, matai, totara and kahikatea are dominant. History The rugged terrain and frequently harsh weather of the Tararua Range served to discourage any substantial attempt at penetration by early Māori. Although there is archaeological evidence of exploration by moa hunters as early as the twelfth century, the mountains remained a massive physical divide between the tribal settlements located along rivers, lakes and coastlines to the east and west. Some of the Ngati Mamoe (early Maori settlers on the neighboring Kapiti Coast) are reputed to have taken refuge in the Tararua mountains after they were displaced by the Rangitane and Muaupoko iwi (tribal groups). The Ngati Mamoe survivors attained a mythical status as the patupaiarehe (fairy folk) of the Tarurua Range. In the 1820s the Muaupoko in turn were forced to flee to the ranges when under attack by the Ngāti Toa led by Te Rauparaha. In spite of such intrusions, the mountain range remained the home of distant gods or hostile wild men (maero). As such, it was a special place to be respected but avoided. In the 1870s a large portion of the ranges was sold to the New Zealand Government by a coalition of the Iwi in possession of the surrounding region. Specifically excluded from this "Tararua Block" purchase was an area of 1,000 acres reserved to protect the sacred lake Hapuakorari, the exact location of which remained uncertain. European settlers, like their Māori counterparts, found the steep ridges and deep valleys of the Tararua Range difficult of access and intimidating in scale. The range accordingly escaped the development of the fertile plains that bordered on it. In 1881 36,000