This trek was about tracing the remaining sections of the buried water race. What did I find?
In this bush bash, I set out to explore the area between the recently discovered visible section of the water race and the scour pipe, a stretch that remained mostly unexplored by myself and dare I say anyone else on planet earth. While I had poked around this area before, I hadn’t walked it in one continuous trek from end to end. Today was the day to tick this box and hopefully discover something new.
Starting at the visible section of the race, I headed west, where it soon disappeared underground. I kept an eye out for any exposed sections, possibly revealed by erosion or steep terrain. The terrain was challenging: a steep hillside with an occasional flat terrace covered with loose rocks. Many of these rocks are hidden beneath plants and trees, making the ground appear stable when it isn’t. As a result, footing is unreliable and slipping downhill is common.
I didn’t come across much, aside from a few suspicious hollows that turned out to be nothing. There were a few clearly man-made items, including an old Waterworks sign with an outdated message, a concrete-encased valve switch I’d already seen on a previous visit, a rotting wooden plank or post, and a single concrete brick. Later, I came across what appeared to be an old maintenance track for the water race, which eventually led me to a post embedded in the ground. It may have once been part of a fence or safety handrail, as the area is steep and the track is narrow and cut into the hillside. Although the track continued westward, it also seemed to descend the slope, so I followed it down until I came to its entrance.
I then returned to the post and continuing west along the track, I hoped the remaining section would reveal something more. I then spotted part of a pipe lying on this track, the same pipe I saw back in Bush Bash 40. I remembered what had happened here before: I’d stood on a wasp nest and been stung over 100 times. I paused, then cautiously continued towards the pipe, taking it one step at a time. I knew the nest was above the pipe, and I was coming from below, but I still took care. I reached the pipe, took a few photos, and carried on along the old track.
About a minute later, I found myself in a ditch curving around the hill. It dawned on me that this is the same ditch previously discovered at the Scour Pipe site. That led me to wonder: could the water race run beneath this track and ditch? I’d previously assumed it was higher up the hill, near where the Orongorongo pipeline runs, and that it passed beneath the nearby earth bridge. But perhaps the earth bridge only conceals the Orongorongo pipeline, and not the water race.
I continued past Scour Pipe and eventually emerged from the bush. At this point, I believe I’ve walked the entire hillside that the water race follows, apart from a small section at the eastern end. I plan to explore that next time, though I don’t expect to find much there.
I didn’t uncover any new parts of the water race today, but so far I’ve identified five sites where it’s visible, either where erosion has exposed it or where manholes remain hidden beneath thick regenerating vegetation. With just that final section remaining, I’ll now need to consider which area to focus on next.
