Karangahake Gorge

After a little bit of a sleep in, we were off to our next destination: Karangahake Gorge. Gimpy opted to take the first leg of driving and what a beautiful day for a road trip!

Banana Pepper

Before getting to the gorge, we headed to a small town called Waihi. Gimpy had found a well reviewed cafe called Banana Pepper. This would be our stop for brunch and being a fan of breakfast foods, this really hit the spot.

Martha Mine

On the way in we spotted a large building on a hill. Not knowing what it was we decided to check it out after brunch. Once we got to the top of the hill, we discovered its not actually a hill, but the lip of a massive mine. After some reading we learned that the mine is called the Martha Mine and was once a prominent New Zealand mine. I’ve only ever seen something like this online or on TV. So being able to appreciate the scale of it by standing right beside it is pretty cool.

We spent a little time walking around part of the perimeter before ducking into the tourist shop for the mine and reading more about it. From there we walked through the main street of Waihi for a bit before jumping back into the car and heading towards Karahange.

Karangahake Gorge

The drive from Waihi to Karangahake Gorge didn’t take too long. Karangahake Gorge is a beautiful river area in New Zealand. But on top of that it used to be a prominent gold mining area as well. So many of the trails and walks in the area relate to old mining trails or mining cart paths. We set out to do two trails today. The Windows Walk and the Tunnel Walk.

Windows Walk

Our first trail is the Karangahake Windows Walk. This follows a few former mining cart routes that go into the cliff sides of the Gorge. The “windows” name comes from the small openings in the cliff face that you can peak out into the river gorge below. While its not a very difficult walk, it is neat for several reasons. Some of the mining cart rail tracks are still on the path and so you can gain an appreciation of what it must have been like to lug carts full of rock back and fourth. 

Once you get into the tunnel part of the path, there are an intricate set of tunnels that you can explore (if you want). The main path keeps close to the river, however there are a few that take you deeper into the mountain and do get quite dark. Thankfully, while you’re able to explore some of these tunnels, you can’t get so far that you’ll get lost!

I think the best part of this walk though, is the “windows” part. As you walk along the path there are points that open up and allow you to look into the gorge from the tunnel. Its very picturesque and also a neat experience to see the outside light from inside a dark tunnel.

Because the “windows” tend to be on one side of the Gorge, you emerge from the tunnels and eventually cross a bridge. Once on the other side you follow the river back to the starting point. The return walk is pleasant and lovely along the river.

However, for Gimpy she did end up having a little trouble with the local bird population.

Tunnel Walk

After the Windows walk, we headed to the next walk on our list, the Tunnel Walk. The tunnel itself used to be part of a rail system that went through the Gorge, before being replaced by another line. Now its a walking and cycle path that’s a little over a kilometre long. So from the parking lot its a 3 kilometre loop all in. From the end of the Window walk, we continued walking a kilometre until we arrive at a bridge that crosses the river and highway.

Once you cross the bridge you arrive at the mouth of the tunnel. The tunnel is really neat. The day itself was quite warm, but once you get to the the tunnel entrance you feel this rush of cold air hit you. I suspect that because the tunnel is so long and cool inside, the air escapes rapidly at the ends and creates a very refreshing effect.

Once you enter, it gets dark, but there are lights along the way. Even so, when you search for the exit on the other side, the “light at the end of the tunnel” phrase starts to ring true. Because at the start the light is really a tiny dot in the distance. Its a cool experience to walk a tunnel of this length mainly because of the duration it takes to traverse it. In my car it would be over in a minute but walking it adds a little something to it!

On the other side we loop around and make the kilometre return trip admiring the river Gorge in all its beauty.

Matamata

From Karangahake, our next destination is Matamata which is a little under an hour’s drive. Suzy took the wheel and got us to our next AirBnB safely! Originally this airBnB wasn’t our first choice, but I’m glad we stayed at this one. Upon arriving, we were greeted with a lovely garden and bushes cut in the shapes of animals. The cottage itself can really only be described as lovely and cute! There was even a deck that allowed you to look into the fields.

Because Matamata didn’t look to have too many dining options that jumped out at us. And the deck of our cottage looked too beautiful to pass up. We decided to grab some take out, head back to our AirBnB and enjoy a sunset dinner together. What caught our eye was a fish and chips (and curry?) place called Chips and Curry that looked well reviewed. We picked up the food, along with some snacks at the local super market before heading home for dinner.

We all had a relaxing and lovely evening on our patio before turning into bed. I’d like to say it was a great sleep but it did get quite hot in the cottage. I do think that this is partially our fault because we closed all the windows for fear of insects! Maybe its a Kiwi thing but it seems like no windows have screens in New Zealand! Nonetheless after a little bit of discomfort, we drifted off to dream land with an eye on tomorrow. Hobbiton was next!