Paengaroa Scenic Reserve is a 107-hectare botanical reserve near Taihape, and it has been a mainland island since 1990, protected from possums and weeds. Its main interest is plants. The Department of Conservation says it has more rare species and divaricating plants than any similarly sized area in New Zealand, including Coprosma obconica, two dwarf mistletoes, and Olearia gardnerii, which has its largest population in the country here. The reserve is a short walk to a picnic spot, and the website describes it as a place to explore the odd, twiggy shapes of the divaricating plants.
The listing gives Tatu Street in Taihape as the address, but the reserve is reached by Mataroa Road, three kilometres north of Taihape on State Highway 1. Winters are cold and summers are hot, and there is no water on site, so visitors bring their own food and drink. Dogs and fires are not permitted, and the reserve asks people not to take plants or seeds in. No customer reviews or nearby comparison figures are included in the listing.