Last updated October 2026
Mangorei is a rural locality on the southern outskirts of New Plymouth, inside the New Plymouth District. It is countryside rather than a town centre: farms, lifestyle properties and forest sit between the city and the lower slopes of Taranaki Maunga. State Highway 3 runs along the south-western side, and Mangorei Road climbs inland toward the bush.
Lake Mangamahoe and the historic Mangorei hydro scheme are the landmarks most people know. The road end is also the start of the track into Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki, so the locality works as both a place to live and a gateway to the mountain.
Practical Information
- Ward or local board
- Kōhanga Moa General Ward, and the district-wide Te Purutanga Mauri Pūmanawa Māori Ward; Inglewood Community
- Getting there
- Drive south on State Highway 3, then take Mangorei Road inland. The main entrance to Lake Mangamahoe is on State Highway 3 between New Plymouth and Egmont Village, opposite Kent Road. Weekday city bus Route 8 is listed as serving Mangorei with Merrilands and Highlands Park; the upper rural roads are a car trip.
- Main shopping
- No village shops. Everyday shopping is a short drive back toward New Plymouth along Mangorei Road.
- Schools
- Mangorei School, a coeducational full primary for Years 1 to 8, with a home zone. Secondary schooling is in New Plymouth.
- Nearby landmarks
- Lake Mangamahoe; Mangorei Power Station on Hydro Road; Mangorei Track car park at the end of Mangorei Road
About Mangorei
Mangorei reads as open country once you leave the built-up end of Mangorei Road. Paddocks, shelter belts and pine forest fill the view, with Taranaki Maunga ahead on a clear day. There is no village square or main street of shops. Daily life is organised around the road, the school and the short drive back into the city.
The Waiwhakaiho River is the awa named in the local school pepeha. That pepeha names Te Ātiawa as iwi, and Ngāti Te Whiti and Ngāti Tūparikino as hapū, and records the old pā Papamoa and Parihamore.
Ngāti Tāwhirikura describe their rohe as running inland from the coast through places recorded by their tūpuna, following Taranaki to Pouākai and Mangorei, then returning by the Waiwhakaiho. Those published statements sit side by side. This is shared landscape, not a place to assign to a single hapū.
European settlement turned the same valleys to farming and, from the early 1900s, to water and electricity. The Mangorei scheme took water from the Waiwhakaiho catchment, and the first electricity reached New Plymouth in January 1906. Lake Mangamahoe came later.
The council’s management plan records that the lake was formed in 1931 by damming the Mangamahoe Stream, for hydro generation and as a town water supply, with forestry planted around it to limit erosion into the lake.
Today the locality is still rural, with Mangorei School as the main community hub. The school describes itself as a city school with a country heart, and its zone reaches from the southern edge of the city up Mangorei Road toward the mountain.
Recreation at the lake, and the tramp that starts at the road end, are what draw most visitors. Neither replaces the working uses of the land: water supply, power and forestry come first at the lake, and the upper track is a serious walk, not a casual stroll.
Getting Around
Most trips are by car. From central New Plymouth, follow State Highway 3 south toward Inglewood and Whanganui. For the lake, use the entrance on the highway opposite the start of Kent Road, between New Plymouth and Egmont Village. A second car park for the mountain bike tracks is at the end of Plantation Road, just south of that entrance.
Mangorei Road is the inland route. The Department of Conservation directs walkers south on State Highway 3, right onto Mangorei Road, then 13.6 kilometres to a car park on the right, just before the road end. That drive is about 20 minutes from New Plymouth. The road is the access, not a destination loop: it ends at the bush edge.
Public transport is limited to the urban end of the corridor. The city network lists weekday Route 8 as serving Mangorei along with Merrilands and Highlands Park, plus a combined morning trip numbered 7/8H. Do not plan on a bus to the lake or the track car park.
Getting Outdoors
Lake Mangamahoe is the main local park, though it is not held as a reserve in the ordinary sense. The council administers about 235 hectares of land around the lake, mostly production pine integrated with recreation.
The management plan is clear that water catchment, power generation and forestry take precedence, and that recreation can be disrupted when those uses require it.
What is there for visitors is a circuit walk, with a ridge option and a lower lakeside route, a one-way bridle trail of about 5 kilometres on the western side, and mountain bike tracks in the forest on the eastern side, reached from Plantation Road.
The Mangorei Track is a different outing. From the road-end car park the path climbs for several hours through regenerating forest, mountain cedar and low alpine scrub to Pouākai Hut, which has 34 bunks and must be booked.
Much of the track is wooden steps and batten boardwalk, which can be a tripping hazard. Snow and ice are common on the higher sections in winter, and Taranaki weather can turn quickly even in summer. Check the forecast and ask the North Taranaki Visitor Centre about conditions before you go.
History and Heritage
The hydro scheme is the locality’s main built heritage. Construction of the original station began in the early 1900s, a government licence to generate was issued in February 1905, and the works were finished late that year.
Street lights and the town hall in New Plymouth were lit in January 1906. Early on, the station ran only from dusk to midnight. Demand grew quickly, and later works added storage by damming the Mangamahoe Stream.
Before the lake existed, water from the station on Hydro Road was taken to filtering tanks on the corner of Mangorei and Junction Roads, built in 1904. The present lake dates from the 1931 dam.
Mangorei Power Station, on Hydro Road beside State Highway 3, is a Category 2 historic place (list number 934), entered on 1 September 1983. Heritage New Zealand records the site as private, with no public access. The station is still an operating hydro plant, run by Manawa Energy, using water from the Waiwhakaiho and Mangamahoe catchments.
Schooling followed the farms. Mangorei School began in 1926 as Lower Mangorei School, after an earlier Lower Mangorei school and Kent School consolidated on the present site. Upper Mangorei School closed in 1938 and Korito School closed in 1939, and their pupils joined the roll. The school remains the full primary for this side of the city.
Where to Learn More
New Plymouth District Council: Lake Mangamahoe Management Plan: Council plan covering access, water supply, forestry and recreation at the lake.
Department of Conservation: Mangorei Track: Access, fitness and weather notes for the track to Pouākai Hut and the tarns.
Heritage New Zealand: Mangorei Power Station: Category 2 listing for the hydro station on Hydro Road, recorded as private with no public access.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Mangorei part of New Plymouth?
Yes. It is a rural locality in the New Plymouth District, on the southern outskirts of the city. It is farmland and lifestyle properties, not a separate town with its own centre.
How do I get to Mangorei?
Drive south on State Highway 3. Lake Mangamahoe’s main entrance is on the highway opposite Kent Road. Mangorei Road turns inland from the highway and runs to the track car park near the road end. City buses serve the urban end of Mangorei Road, not the lake or the bush edge.
Is there a school in Mangorei?
Mangorei School is a coeducational full primary for Years 1 to 8 on the southern outskirts. It has a home zone, so check with the school before assuming a property is entitled to enrol.
Where do residents shop?
There is no shopping centre in the rural locality. Everyday shops and services are a short drive back toward New Plymouth.
Can I visit Mangorei Power Station?
No. It is a working hydro station and a listed historic place, and Heritage New Zealand records it as private with no public access. Do not enter the site.
Can I swim or take a boat on Lake Mangamahoe?
Treat it as a water-supply catchment and hydro reservoir, not a swimming lake. The council plan says catchment, generation and forestry come before recreation, and it records that anglers may not use boats. Follow the signs and current council rules on site.
What is the Mangorei Track?
It is the Department of Conservation track from the car park at the end of Mangorei Road up to Pouākai Hut, with a short onward walk to the Pouākai tarns. It is a long uphill day or an overnight tramp, and alpine weather, including winter snow and ice, is normal. Book the hut if you plan to stay.
Which iwi and hapū are connected with Mangorei?
The school pepeha names Te Ātiawa, and the hapū Ngāti Te Whiti and Ngāti Tūparikino. Ngāti Tāwhirikura also describe Mangorei as part of their inland rohe. More than one hapū has a relationship with this land, so ask locally rather than treating one name as the only one.
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