Take a trail at Talbot Forest: These short walks in and around Talbot Forest Scenic Reserve are ideal for families. There are four short walks through the forest which interconnect with roads around the reserve. doc.govt.nz/talbot-forest-tracks

• Kahikatea Track. 10 min. Distance: 683 m. This track connects Hislop Street with Totara Street picnic area. There are some fine kahikatea trees at the Hislop Street end where the land is wetter. Kahikatea can grow to be the tallest tree in the forest, reaching 40 metres.
• Tōtara Track. 5 min. Distance: 302 m. This track connects Totara Street with Tripp Street picnicarea. Next to the track is the largest tōtara in the reservewhich is estimated to be 800 years old. Tōtara were usedby Māori to built canoes. A large tree could be made into a waka taua (war canoe) capable of holding 100 warriors.
• Reservoir Track. 5 min. Distance: 225 m. This track connects Tripp Street picnic area with Bridge Street. The picnic area is a good starting point from which to explore the reserve. The iron gates on Bridge Street mark the old main entrance into the reserve.
• Mataī Track. 10 min. Distance: 680 m. This track connects Tripp Street with Totara Street. The track passes some impressive forest trees including mataī with its needle leaves and ‘hammered’ bark.

Ride your Mountain Bike in Peka Peka Gully right in town

Find the Orchard of Legends in Geraldine: The Incredible Edible Group created fruit tree trail and dedicated the trees to special individuals. Can you find them all? On your way, find something rough, fuzzy, beautiful, round, noisy, smooth, straight and two kinds of seeds.

• Peter Matthews - Geraldine Primary School
• John Bray - Orari Domain 
• Hilda Joyce - outside St Andrews Church Hall, next to Kindergarten
• Wendy Patrick - Wilson Street, next to Aorangi Vets
• Vera Clearwater - St Mary's Church Grounds
• Katherine Hayhoe - St Mary's Church grounds
• Austen Deans - cnr Huffey & Cox Street
• Michael & Bridgette Barker - outside Haywood Cottage Montessori (Huffey Street)
• Jan Hill - outside Haywood Cottage Montessori (Huffey Street)
• Jim Hopa - police station, Talbot Street
• John Badcock - outside Post Office
• Trish Reader - beside Geraldine Academy of Performing arts, Talbot Street
• Bob & Margaret Andrews - Z garage garden

Orchard of legends are green markers on the map. The peach coloured markers are the edible plots. See the group on facebook: facebook.com/incredibleediblegeraldine

We love how the Geraldine Arts and Plants walkway is developing at Geraldine. You can start at the Riverside Walkway where there are heaps of Rhododendron plants and a secret fairy door. Here is a link to the walk

Inspiration to find cool trees in Geraldine

Pekapeka Gully Track in Geraldine takes about an hour and gives some great Views over the Geraldine plains and to the mountains. Start at the end of Hislop Street and follow the track up and over the ridge. This is a steep grade going up and down but rewarded by a good view at the top. It is suitable for fit mountain bikers and walkers. A pine plantation on the south side protects the native re-vegetation along Riddells Reserve and the retention dam. In times of heavy rain, proceed with caution as water will back up behind the dam. Large trees provide shade on the downward slope. This gully provides a wildlife corridor to link with Talbot Forest. The track comes out at the end of Barker Street. It is named the Pekapeka track after the rare Long Tailed Bat (pekapeka) which inhabits the area. It is, however, rarely seen. To extend this walk continue on along the Talbot Forest walkway.

Talbot Forest is a neat track that connects the top of the hill to the town below. there are a few forest giants to meet, totara, kahikatea and matai to name a few. Both native and introduced birds fill the forest with song. The trail leads onto State Highway 79 and here you may choose to turn left to carry on to Peel Forest, or turn right into Geraldine township and continue on the Pioneer Trail circuit. The trip to Peel Forest takes approximately 30 minutes.

Kahikatea Track 683m, 10 minutes. This track connects Hislop Street with Totara Street picnic area. There are some fine kaikahikatea trees at the HislopStreet end where the land is wetter. Kaikahikatea can grow to be the tallest tree in the forest, reaching 40 metres.

Totara Track 302m, 5 minutes. This track connects Totara Street with Tripp Street picnic area. Next to the track is the largest tötara in the reserve which is estimated to be 800 years old. Tötara were used by Mäori to built canoes. A large tree could be made into a waka taua (war canoe) capable of holding 100 warriors.

Reservoir Track 225m, 5 minutes. This track connects Tripp Street picnic area with Bridge Street. The picnic area is a good starting point from which to explore the reserve. The iron gates on Bridge Street mark the old main entrance into the reserve.

Mataï Track 680m, 10 minutes. This track connects Tripp Street with Totara Street. The track passes some impressive forest trees including mataï with its needle leaves and ‘hammered’ bark.

Find the Orchard of Legends in Geraldine: The Incredible Edible Group created fruit tree trail and dedicated the trees to special individuals. Can you find them all? On your way, find something rough, fuzzy, beautiful, round, noisy, smooth, straight and two kinds of seeds.

• Peter Matthews - Geraldine Primary School
• John Bray - Orari Domain 
• Hilda Joyce - outside St Andrews Church Hall, next to Kindergarten
• Wendy Patrick - Wilson Street, next to Aorangi Vets
• Vera Clearwater - St Mary's Church Grounds
• Katherine Hayhoe - St Mary's Church grounds
• Austen Deans - cnr Huffey & Cox Street
• Michael & Bridgette Barker - outside Haywood Cottage Montessori (Huffey Street)
• Jan Hill - outside Haywood Cottage Montessori (Huffey Street)
• Jim Hopa - police station, Talbot Street
• John Badcock - outside Post Office
• Trish Reader - beside Geraldine Academy of Performing arts, Talbot Street
• Bob & Margaret Andrews - Z garage garden

Orchard of legends are green markers on the map. The peach coloured markers are the edible plots. See the group on facebook: facebook.com/incredibleediblegeraldine

Go on a fern and fungi hunt in Peel Forest and say hello to Big Trees and 1000 year old giants: just 20 minutes from Geraldine, has been a popular spot for people wanting to get away from town for nearly 100 years. Originally a timber milling settlement Peel Forest Park was established in the 1920’s to protect the remaining native bush. Today the forest no longer hums with industry, and instead is a peaceful haven full of native birdsong. Here you’ll find a fantastic variety of ferns and fungi, as well as ancient forest giants, with some trees more than 1000 years old. Peel Forest Park Scenic Reserve has extensive walking tracks from the awe inspiring 30 minute ‘Big Tree Walk’ to the heady heights of Little Mt Peel, the climb to its 1311m summit is a walk of several hours.

Adventure in the Pioneer Park Conservation Area and find a special chimney: has two tracks from 30 min - 2 hr.  It is 32 km from Geraldine. Follow the Geraldine Fairlie Highway (79) for 23 km before turning onto Gudex Road. Take the next right onto Middle Valley Road. Follow this road for 2 km before turning left through iron gates into Pioneer Park. This 390-hectare conservation area has links with the earlysettlers of the district. Pioneer Park got its name in recognition of the early pioneer families who settled in this area; “to commemorate the courage and forbearance of the early settlers”. Mr Burke was the first settler to drive a bullock cart over the pass (which now bears his name) into the Mackenzie country. Within the reserve, a chimney is all that remains of the house he built in 1885.

Walk in the footsteps of past pioneers: the walkway follows an old tramway line to the The Kakahu Lime Kiln area, south of Geraldine. From the 1880’s it was used to transport marble chips from the bush clad hilltop to the kiln, which marks the beginning of the walk. Further along the road is a short walk to interesting limestone cliffs.

• Homebush Track. 30 min return Distance: 1 km. Short walk with stream crossing This loop track starts from the campground, crossing a small stream and then climbing to a ridge where there are large kaikahikatea and tötara. The most impressive is a stately tötara about three metres in diameter. The track then returns via the Burke Hut memorial.
• White Pine Track. 2 hours return. Distance: 5 km. Easy tramping with stream crossings. This track starts from the Pioneer Park campground and climbs through regenerating native bush and then through introduced forestry trees. The return leg drops steeply into a native bush gully and zigzags (seven times) across the stream before meeting the original track. A left turn takes you back to the campground.

"To mark the occasion 50 years ago, the Mayoress, Mrs W. S. Maslin, planted an oak tree in the Domain. At that time the south end was a busy shopping centre. in 1906. I remember seeing the traction engines doing the hauling. The foundation stone of the new build- ing bears the date. August 1, 1906. In that year, too, the baths were built, the cycle track put down, the new reservoir was completed and the high pressure water system put in. J. McCaskey was said to have worked hard to have the new water system established." - Geraldine Borough Reaches Fiftieth Anniversary on Monday (05 Mar 1955). Aoraki Heritage Collection, accessed 21/06/2023, https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/1440

A wander through a forest is just what our family needed last weekend. It's quiet and easy at Peel Forest. We hugged huge 1000 year old trees, saw flittering fantails, hunted for skeleton leaves, saw the new mural, the Dean's memorial and found old saw pits... find free family fun at Peel Forest.

A Totara tree was planted near the band rotunda as part of the celebrations of Timaru being declared a city in 1948. In 1960