This was first posted in Feb 2016 .. a special repost for lockdown!

On the way back from Waihi we stopped in for a look at the Karangahake gorge.

We are intending to do the bike trail but it’s all about gathering up more knowledge before we take this on. 

It’s a really interesting area with several short walks that are not part of the trail. We had a look at a couple of the old power stations and batteries while we were there which takes an hour according to the sign. The walking doesn’t take anything like that and it’s well worth a look. 

Click on the images to see them in hi res or slideshow

The overall map on the site

The first swing bridge

The second swing bridge with the battery ruins on the left

The River in the gorge

Fiona being a goldminer

The river

The second battery

The second battery at the lowest level

The second battery at the middle level with the huge wall remaining

The second level wall with the walkway across the river

Remains of the track for the ore

The battery end of the skyway ore buckets. (Flying fox)

Looking along the river with the road alongside

Looking back into Karangahake

Looking back to Karangahake as it was at the time

Karangahake was a small town which included all the things you’d expect to see in a town like Te Aroha or similar. 

We walked across the swing bridges and up the hill past the power station, the two batteries built down the hillsides. The ore was swung across the river from the tops of hills in a flying fox type of setup before processing with cyanide. It really was a huge setup. It’s not until you’re up there that you realise the scale of it all and looking at the remains, what it must have taken to build the buildings themselves and the infrastructure to go with it.

We walked all around and as the weather deteriorated, we worked our way closer to Rafe in the carpark. Another one of those feature areas that I’ve driven past lots of times and was really pleased we stopped for a look.