The Kaimanawa Range, officially called the Kaimanawa Mountains since 16 July 2020, is a range of mountains in the central North Island of New Zealand. They extend for 50 kilometres in a northeast–southwest direction through largely uninhabited country to the south of Lake Taupō, east of the "Desert Road". Their slopes form part of the North Island Volcanic Plateau.
The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "breath for food" for Kaimanawa.
The lands around the mountains are scrubby. To the west, where the Rangipo Desert is located, the soils are poor quality. To the east, the soils are more fertile, but the land is very rough. A population of feral horses, the Kaimanawa horses, roam free on the ranges.
Unlike the majority of mountain ranges in New Zealand, the Kaimanawa Range is divided into private land. Considerable areas of the Rangipo Desert are used by the New Zealand Army for training.
Demographics
Kaimanawa covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km<sup>2</sup>.
Kaimanawa had a population of 312 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 132 people (73.3%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 306 people (5100.0%) since the 2013 census. There were 303 males and 9 females in 9 dwellings. 5.8% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 48.3 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 33 people (10.6%) aged 15 to 29, 240 (76.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 42 (13.5%) aged 65 or older.
Kaimanawa Wall
thumb|left|Kaimanawa wall
The Kaimanawa Wall is a geological feature in the Kaimanawa State Forest. The Tūwharetoa tangata whenua (people) claim an "oral tradition" of the place as a kōhatu (rock).