Outdoors: A round tuit to collect

By COLIN MOORE

Years ago my mother gave me a round tuit to hang on my study wall. The inscription on the circular plaque reads: "For years you've heard people say 'I'll do this when I get a round tuit'. So, now you have one you can accomplish all those things you put aside until you got a round tuit."

There's always a lot of talk of getting round tuits in the outdoors and an overnight trip to Opotiki provides the ideal chance to do so.

It has become something of a habit in my family to breast the Kaimai range from the south-west, using SH27 and SH29, when heading for the part of the Bay of Plenty coast from Mt Maunganui and further east.

For one thing, it is a straight, flat highway all the way to Matamata.

And for another, as I discover on this trip, there is the Workman's Cafe Bar in the Matamata main street, which outdoes almost anything you'll find in Devonport or Parnell for sidewalk cafe ambience and food, and beats them all on price.

And mother, who is the reason for the trip, reckons the cafe's toilets are the cleanest and most interesting - they are decorated with bric-a-brac - she has visited anywhere in the world in all her 86 years. They even have the stylish luxury of individually rolled hand towels.

The cafe and straight road notwithstanding, taking the inland road east means missing one of the more scenic stretches of highway in the North Island, the short stretch of SH2 from Paeroa to Waihi through the Karangahake Gorge.

The gorge effectively splits the Kaimai Range from the Coromandel Range and the road through it follows every twist and turn of the Ohinemuri River - which is one reason why, with passengers susceptible to car sickness, we tend to avoid it.

However, in doing so we miss not only a delightful scenic interlude on our car journey but an opportunity to follow a historic walkway that has been developed over the past 20 years and which I have been promising to get round to walking for almost as long. The return journey from Opotiki is an ideal opportunity.

The walkway, now administered by the Department of Conservation, follows part of the old Paeroa to Waihi rail line, which was closed in 1979 when trains, too, began to breach the Kaimai Range from the south-west through the Kaimai tunnel.

The walking track also follows all the turns of the bubbling Ohinemuri River, on the opposite bank from the road.

That, in itself, is reason enough to take this modest, 7km walk, which is suitable for people of all ages.

The Ohinemuri is alluring when flashing past in a car, but walking beside it reveals so much more.

The sun plays on its miniature rapids and encourages boldly red dragon flies to dart across its quieter stretches.

The sound of flowing, riffling water is peaceful and calming, the movement almost hypnotic.

And it is accompanied by a scent of fresh water and fresh air that is untouched by any vehicle emissions from the opposite bank.

Look up and there are steep flanks to the gorge, in places topped by patches of bush, and jagged rock walls beside the river.

But this is a historic, not just a scenic, walk because gold was found in these here hills and about 80 years ago the track would have been a busy pathway for miners, schoolchildren and shoppers.

Karangahake, where the walkway begins, about 6km from Paeroa was home to nearly 2000 people during the gold boom years at the turn of last century - and it was not a peaceful place.

In the vicinity of Karangahake were the Crown, Woodstock and Talisman batteries, so the town reverberated to the thud of 150 stampers pounding quartz to find the gold secreted in it.

The walkway begins at a new carpark and information shelter at the Karangahake Reserve, opened last year by the Hauraki District Council.

From here you can follow a 2km loop track - it takes about 45 minutes across a new swing bridge past the remains of the stamper batteries and through an 1100m railway tunnel.

The track was cut through the hill so the rail line could bypass an awkward bend in the Ohinemuri River. The tunnel has electric lights and its brick-lined walls are still covered in the soot from steam locomotives.

The tunnel emerges at its eastern portal in the rugged heart of the Karangahake Gorge.

The old steel railway bridge that takes the line back to the southern bank of the Ohinemuri River is a great spot for views of the river and the craggy gorge.

It is 5km of pleasant riverside walking from the Karangahake Reserve to a carpark at Waitawheta Rd. A short side track here leads to the Owharoa Falls. It is well worth taking.

Owharoa once had its own township, with hotels, stores, houses and a school, but it was overshadowed by the nearby settlement of Waikino, 2km further along the trail and home to the Victoria Battery.

The battery, with 200 stampers, was the largest quartz-crushing plant for gold extraction in New Zealand and pulverised 800 tonnes of ore a day.

A footbridge leads from the huge, stark remains of the battery back across the river to where the old railway station has been redeveloped as a visitor centre and tearooms.

From here you can ride a vintage train to Waihi on the Goldfields Railway. The train makes three return journeys a day.

Waikino also retains its old pub, which has many an interesting item adorning its walls and is an appropriate place to toast your success at finally getting around to it - exploring the Karangahake Gorge historic walkway.

Waihi

Workmans


* colinmoore@xtra.co.nz

case notes

For more information on the Karangahake Gorge contact:

Department of Conservation, ph (07) 867 9080

Hauraki District Council, ph (07) 862 8609

Goldfields Railway, ph (07) 863 8251

Waikino Station Cafe, ph (07) 863 8640

Ohinemuri gold trail information, ph (07) 863 3030

E-mail: gowaihi@xtra.co.nz