The Waiwhetu Tunnel: An 1880s Relic Hidden in the Hills
The Waiwhetu Tunnel, built in the 1880s, is no longer in use. These days, both ends of the tunnel are hidden in the bush. The entrance lies above Waiau Street on the Wainuiomata side of the Eastern Hutt Hills, while the exit is tucked away on the Gracefield side of the same range.
I began my trek by parking at the Wainuiomata Mountain Bike Park and walking up the Beeline Track. Not far up the hill, the entrance to the Waiwhetu Tunnel came into view. I was surprised by how easy it was to find. When I was younger, I used to ride a motocross bike in this area, right near the Wainuiomata Tunnel which was very visible in the 1980s. The Waiwhetu Tunnel, while next to the Wainuiomata Tunnel, is completely hidden in the bush and was likely the case in the 1980s too. No surprises there, given the tunnel was built in 1883. It was already over 100 years old, when I was a teenager.
Happy with the photos I had taken, I drove to the top of the Wainuiomata Hill, parked at the lookout, and dropped down the hillside into a deep gully. Before reaching the gully floor, I passed a sign warning of telephone cables and later learned that the Waiwhetu Tunnel had telephone lines installed through it in the 1950s. Once at the floor of the gully, I continued downhill for a few minutes and came across the exit on the Gracefield side of the Waiwhetu Tunnel. Two large water pipes emerged near the tunnel mouth, partially buried and descending further down the hill. I also noticed two smaller pipes climbing the southern hillside beside the tunnel and decided to follow them to see where they led. Before doing so, I paused to take some photos of the tunnel exit and used my flash to illuminate the blocked interior, successfully capturing a glimpse inside. I could see a single large pipe within, which made it all the more puzzling why two additional large pipes were situated just outside the tunnel.
I began following the two smaller pipes up the hill, but they soon disappeared into incredibly dense regenerating bush—thankfully almost free of gorse. Progress was difficult, so I veered sideways along the slope and found a clearer path uphill. I then tried crossing back to relocate the pipes, but they had vanished. I descended through thick bush below, hoping to spot where they entered the hillside, but had no luck. It was steep and slippery, though the dense undergrowth meant I couldn’t fall far even if I tried. I later realised I hadn’t gone far enough along the slope. When I returned to the gully floor, I found the pipes continued further ahead. With only about an hour of daylight remaining, I decided to abandon the mission and head back to my car.
For the return, instead of climbing up the way I had taken down, I noticed what looked like a rough track, or maybe just a natural gap in the forest, running above the creek. It led me most of the way back up the hillside toward the Wainui Lookout. I eventually emerged at a track near the lookout and a woman walking her dog looked a little startled when I popped out of the bushline, and considering that I was profusely sweating from scaling the steep hill, she probably thought I had escaped from somewhere.
Back at the car, I was satisfied with the day’s adventure. It turned out to be more challenging than expected, and my aching legs were proof of it. I climbed in and headed home.
