A New Discovery at the Water Race and Walking the 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 in the general direction of the site but decided to continue east instead of going straight there. Moving between Reservoir Road and Maintenance Road, I located a pipe running under Maintenance Road as well as a steel cable, about 200 metres east from the previously discovered water race site.
Further down the bank, 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 was heavily overgrown with supplejack in places, making navigation extremely difficult. After struggling through for a while, I gave up and tried another section of the same route where the vegetation was easier to traverse. Eventually, I rejoined the track where there was no supplejack and continued onward.
While walking, I noticed an upright flat rock leaning against a tree, with the trunk growing around it. Next to it was a hole in the ground, and upon closer inspection of the wall inside the hole, I saw another similar rock lying flat with rounded stones beneath it. It looked man-made. As I investigated further, I discovered what appeared to be mortar. Using my hands, I started digging and quickly uncovered a flat concrete edge. Digging deeper, I found a second layer of concrete that cascaded outward. There was no doubt, this was a man-made structure, likely part of the water race.
Satisfied with my find, I made my way back to Reservoir Road and headed 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, where the track I had walked turned out to be the same track my friend had pointed out.
We decided to walk the length of the track westward, 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.
The hillside was covered in loose rocks, making it difficult to walk along the buried track. Despite the challenge, we pushed on, knowing this would likely be a one-time experience. Something to tick off the list. As the track descended toward Reservoir Road, the track became obvious as 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 middle 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 both the water race and its maintenance track.
Overall, this was an incredible adventure, effectively two adventures in one! The physical challenge left me feeling sore, but in a good way. A great day of exploration and discovery.
