Walk 23, Kauaeranga Model Dam / Kahikatea Walk, 27 Dec 2019
The Kauaeranga valley is near Thames. It’s a pretty valley but stripped of its original Kauri forests. A century ago the trees were chopped down and the timber was used for things like ship’s masts, furniture, houses and the rebuilding of San Francisco.
The logs were floated down the valley using Kauri dams.
The walk to the model dam begins at the DOC Visitor Centre car park. The dam is a working small scale model, a third of the size of the original Tarawaere Kauri dam further up the valley.
On the way to the model dam, there’s a treasure hunt with a conservation theme. It’s really for kids but we did it and presented the results to the DOC staff for our sticker!
Walk: Coromandel 5
There’s another model of a Kauri dam in the small town of Katikati, which I show in the Haiku Walk.
Related posts:
Kauaeranga Valley, Hoffmans Pool
Links
The First Year on the Thames Goldfield was a Thames 150th Anniversary project
NZShortWalks 