CAMPING THE KIWI WAY

After a cold morning out in the fog I headed back to the camper to thaw out my fingers and feet while having breakfast. 

At about 9 am Barb and I donned our tramping gear and went for a 4 hour hike along the bush trails that start at the Waiorongomai Valley carpark. We hiked to Butler’s Incline and climbed to the very top. It is very steep and a lot of hard work. We then descended the very, very steep New Era Branch Track, climbing down backwards in many places whilst hanging onto trees, roots and rocks. This track is only 500m long but can take one hour to ascend. That gives you some idea of how steep the terrain is.

It is a fascinating area with lots of ore wagon tracks still in place along the hiking trails and various mining equipment and building ruins to see on the way.

Due to all the rain there were numerous cascades and waterfalls spilling across the trails and also multiple fast flowing streams to cross. We had a blast! ◊ July 2023

©2024 Greg Lokes FB: Gregs Eye

ckw.nz/gregs-eye

In the Kaimai Mamaku Conservation Park.

DOC: ckw.nz/doc-waiorongomai

NZ’s oldest known railway: ckw.nz/oldest-tramway