The Māori people of the Tainui waka (Ngāti Maniapoto, Waikato Tainui, Ngāti Hikairo) have strong whakapapa-based links to Mount Pirongia. The mountain was first encountered after landfall of the Tainui waka around 800 years ago. Early names bestowed on the mountain included Paewhenua (the land barrier, given by Rakātaura) and Pukehoua (now given to a flank cone on the eastern side of the mountain). The present name is:{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, which translates to 'the putrid stench of Kahu', or more gently, the 'scented pathway of Kahu'. This name originates from Kahupekapeka (a Tainui tupuna), who following the death of her husband Uenga (descendent of the ariki Hoturoa), left Kāwhia with her son Rākamaomao and travelled inland, naming many peaks across the Waikato region.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Kahupekapeka searched the bush on Pirongia for rongoā rākau (medicinal plants) to heal her body, which was afflicted by the miscarriage of her unborn child with Uenga.<ref name="McLeod2020" />
To preserve the heritage of Mount Pirongia, Pirongia Te Aroaro o Kahu Restoration Society Inc was formed in 2002 as a result of deep-seated community interest in its ecological restoration.<ref>http://www.mtpirongia.org.nz/NewFiles/about.html Pirongia Te Aroaro o Kahu Restoration Society website</ref> During 2001 DoC had invited nominations for a working group. The Society evolved from a hui at Pūrekireki Marae on 20 April 2002. The Māori people have a strong connection to Mount Pirongia.<ref name=":7">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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On 18 December 2024, the name of Pirongia's second tallest peak, The Cone, was formally changed to Pūāwhē by the New Zealand Geographic Board.
File:Mt Pirongia (6727).pngMount Pirongia viewed from a distance (approx Feb 2013); the profile is clearly shown as is the secondary cone to the right of the mountain.File:Tirohanga pinnacle, Pirongia.jpgThe Tirohanga Track skirts the foot of the hornblende andesite dike
Mount Pirongia is the largest stratovolcano in the Alexandra Volcanic Group chain which extends inland from Mount Karioi near Raglan. It is a mainly basaltic volcano, though andesite dykes form the peaks of Wharauroa, Mahaukura, Tirohanga, Pirongia Summit and The Cone. To the west it merges into the highland terrain of the Karioi horst block and in the east it arises above the Hamilton Basin, a major rift-related depression bound by the Waipa Fault Zone.<ref name="Pittari2021">Template:Cite journal</ref> There are at least six edifice-forming members separated by features including those resulting from large volume collapse events.<ref name="McLeod2020">Template:Cite book</ref> The largest debris avalanche (the Oparau breccia) cascaded at least 25 km southwest from Pirongia into the Kawhia Harbour and was larger in volume (3.3 km3) than the Mt. St. Helens collapse of 1980 (2.5 km3).<ref name="MP2020">Template:Cite journal</ref> The collapse was followed by late-stage eruptions from the summit area around 1.6 Ma. The mountain contains unusually crystal-rich lavas of (ankaramite basalt) that also occur on Karioi, Kakepuku and Te Kawa but are not found elsewhere in New Zealand.<ref name="LP2019" />
Pirongia event history
Time
Deposit name
Comment
1.60 ± 0.04 Ma
Pirongia
Current summit, also peripheral basaltic eruption 1.64 ± 0.13 Ma on flanks
Collapse and peripheral basaltic eruption 2.03 ± 0.03 Ma
2.25 to 2.13 Ma
Hiwikiwi
2.30 ± 0.005 Ma Hikurangi
2.35 ± 0.2 Ma
Ruapane
2.396 ± 0.005 Ma
Mahaukura
Mahaukura edifice . Central vent is Tirohanga Peak, which is andesitic, as are Mahaukura Bluffs. Ruapane Peak is ankaramite.
2.54 to 2.418
Paewhenua
Land use
Mount Pirongia is a popular place for hunters from Hamilton seeking a quick day trip hunt, holding several feral goat herds on its bush-clad slopes. Rumours abound about small numbers of red deer released by farmers after an earlier deer farming boom went bust.Template:Citation needed Pirongia Forest Park is administered by the Waikato DoC office in Hamilton.
Threatened plants include king fern, carmine rātā, thismia rodwayi and Wood Rose or Dactylanthus taylorii, a rare and endangered parasitic flowering plant, found on the ridges of Mount Pirongia.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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The canopy in the podocarp forest of the lower slopes is tawa, with scattered rimu, kohekohe and a few other trees. The subcanopy has tree ferns, including wheki and ponga, and nikau palm, with pigeonwood (porokaiwhiri), hīnau, pukatea, supplejack (kareao), māhoe, hangehange, kanono and toropapa. Rātā replaces kohekohe at higher levels, until a change to upland forest (dominated by kāmahi, tawheowheo and tāwari) at about Template:Convert. Above that, kāmahi, tāwari and tawheowheo become more prominent until at Template:Convert tawa is very rare. Above Template:Convert there are also scattered Hall's totara, miro, rātā and horopito, and, near the summit, pāhautea (at its northern limit on the west coast), but no rimu. Rocky summit pinnacles have the sub alpine species snow tōtara and eyebright (Euphrasia revoluta).<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Commonly found birds are: pīwakawaka, kōtare, tūī, kererū and kārearea.<ref name=":1" /> In 2019 funding was won for reintroduction of kōkako.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Pest control
Possums and goats have been controlled since 1996, brown and black rats since 2006 and mustelids since 2019, using traps and goat, deer and pig hunters.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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There are numerous tracks to the summit.<ref>Day walks of Waikato and King Country. Reed Publishing (NZ) Ltd, 2003, p. 56 - 61</ref> All the tracks are well signposted, with bright orange plastic waymarks<ref name=":3" /> and near the summit have recently been laid with boardwalks (see photo below), some of them as part of Te Araroa long distance trail.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Mahaukura - Tirohanga Circuit (8–11 hours Template:Convert return) (4–6 hr / Template:Convert one way) is a longer distance but with a gradual climb from Grey Road. This track is considered difficult. It leads through many steep sections but gives excellent views from Wharauroa lookout (Template:Convert), the last Template:Convert to it having a fixed chain to assist climbing, Mahaukura peak (Template:Convert) and Tirohanga peak. In winter and after rain the track becomes muddy and slippery. There are many narrow sections with a tangle of tree roots and rocks.<ref name=":4">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Wharauroa Track (2 hr / Template:Convert one way) is an alternative route to Wharauroa lookout, which is Template:Convert shorter and about Template:Convert less to climb. It starts over farmland at O’Shea Road, before climbing through tawa bush.<ref name=":4" />
Tirohanga Track (3–5 hr / Template:Convert km one way) starts at Corcoran Road, climbs to Ruapane Template:Convert, skirts the hornblende andesitedike of Tirohanga and undulates with some chains, before merging with the Mahaukura Track.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Ruapane Track (1 hr 30 min Template:Convert one way), a longer alternative route to Ruapane, starts at Waite Road.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Bell Track via Kaniwhaniwha Caves (6-10 hr / Template:Convert one way) starts with the Nikau Walk from Limeworks Loop Road. It stays in the valley to the kahikatea recorded as the tallest native tree at Template:Convert,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Tahuanui Track (4–5 hr / Template:Convert km one way) also starts with the Nikau Walk from Limeworks Loop Road. It climbs steadily beside the Kaniwhaniwha valley, before a short descent and ascent to join the Tirohanga Track to the summit.<ref name=":5" />
Hihikiwi Track (4–6 hr / Template:Convert km one way) climbs many steps in bush from Pirongia West Road, then rises further to an up and down ridge, to reach Hihikiwi Lookout (Template:Convert), where there are views down the Ōpārau valley to Kawhia Harbour. From the lookout there is a boardwalk and steps down and up to the hut.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
Corcoran Road Lookout (15 min return Template:Convert) a short, wheelchair accessible track, in bush to a viewpoint.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Mangakara Nature Walk (1 hr / 1.5 km return) views examples of miro, tawa, rimu, kahikatea, mahoe, rewarewa, kareao, pukatea, nikau and kāmahi bush.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Nikau Walk (2 hr 30 min / 7 km return) like the Bell and Tahuanui Tracks, this walk starts at Limeworks Loop Road, passes through an area planted around 2010, then follows the Kaniwhaniwha stream to a nikau palm and tree fern fringed loop walk. A further 30 minutes of walking allows a visit to the Template:Convert long Kaniwhaniwha Cave, through the limestone.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Ōpārau Route (1 hr one way) from Pirongia West Road is unmarked and crosses farmland to the park boundary. The Ōpārau River is unbridged and impassable after heavy rain.<ref name=":3" />
File:Walter Scott Reserve loop track.jpgWalter Scott Reserve loop trackWalter Scott Reserve (1 hr 30 min loop track)<ref name=":3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Track history
Pirongia was surveyed in 1884, when a very sketchy map was drawn.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Between the Summit and The Cone, at the junction of the Bell and Hihikiwi Tracks, a hut built in 2015 has 20 bunks. An older hut with 6 bunks is next to it.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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