A new discovery at the water race and walking an old cart track.
Today, I set out to find more evidence of the water race first discovered on my previous bush-bashing adventure. I also had a meeting planned at 1pm to show a friend the water race site that was discovered in my previous bush bash.
I headed out early by myself in the general direction of the water race site, but decided to continue east instead of actually going there. Onroute, I located a pipe and a steel cable, then continued further where I stumbled upon an old track and decided to follow it further eastward. However, aside from the track itself, I didn’t find anything significant. The path eventually became overgrown with supplejack, making navigation extremely difficult. After struggling through for a while, I gave up and navigated around where the vegetation was easier to traverse. Eventually, I rejoined the track where there was no supplejack and continued.
While walking, I noticed a flat, upright rock leaning against a tree, with the trunk slowly growing around it. Perhaps the rock was placed there long ago, or maybe it slid down the hill and came to rest against the tree. Either way, it was fascinating to see how the tree had gradually enveloped it. I couldn’t shake the feeling that the rock might be a marker of some kind.
About 6 feet from the rock. I spotted a hole in the ground. Curious, I took a closer look at the inside wall and saw another flat rock embedded there, with rounded stones beneath it. It looked somewhat man-made, so I investigated further, and soon came across what looked like a fragment of mortar.
Using my hands, I began to dig and quickly uncovered a flat concrete edge, clearly a man-made structure was buried there. Digging deeper, I found a second layer of concrete beneath the first. There was no doubt now: this had to be connected to the water race.
Satisfied with my find, I made my way back toward my car. It was almost 1pm.
Upon arrival, I met up with my friend and showed him the first water race site, discovered during my previous bush-bashing trip. Back on Reservoir Road, my friend pointed out the entrance to an old cart track. In return, I showed him a water pipe with a small brick facade near the road. After that, we headed to the second site I had found earlier in the day. The track I walked to that site is the same one my friend pointed out at the entrance.
We decided to walk the length of the track westward from the second water race site, back to where it reconnected with Reservoir Road. It was no easy walk though. The steep bank and loose rocks made the terrain treacherous. It’s likely that rocks had been cast down the hill during the construction of Maintenance Road above in the 1920s, when the road was built to support construction and maintenance of the Orongorongo pipeline project.
Despite the challenge, we pressed on, knowing this was likely a one-time journey—something to tick off the list. As the track descended toward Reservoir Road, it became more distinct, sitting far enough from Maintenance Road to avoid being covered in rubble. Here, the ground was noticeably flat, with cuttings in the bank marking its original path. Eventually, we emerged onto Reservoir Road and made our way back to the car park.
This adventure gave me a better understanding of the area’s history. From what I can tell, Reservoir Road is the oldest route here, as it was initially a tramway used to haul logs out of the valley. Later, it served as a transport route for people and materials during the construction of the dam. Eventually the tramway was dismantled and sold off, and the track was turned into a road.
The track we walked is located between Reservoir and Maintenance roads. This track was likely used for building and maintaining the water race. Some decades later, when the Orongorongo Catchment was being developed, Maintenance Road was built above it, burying much of the water race and its maintenance track.
Overall, this was a demanding trek, two adventures in one! The physical challenge left me sore but satisfied, a reminder of a day well spent exploring and discovering.
