3166 Waiorongamai

Sunday 2nd February 2025

Waiorongomai Valley south of Te Aroha was once a busy gold mining site. Many relics from that era remain and we will visit some of them. The valley was also the site of a tramping hut, built in 1954 by the WTC. The hut burned down in 1980, but the remains of its brick chimney can still be seen. We will go up the valley on the Low Level and Water Race Tracks. Three stream crossings and a short climb will then get us to the hut site, where some nostalgic memories will be recalled. We will then go part way up the New Era Branch Track (steep), before following an old mining track that sidles back down the valley. This is not a maintained track and will involve some scrambling. For those still with energy, we will climb up Butlers Incline, a steep self-acting railway that will take about 25 minutes. The old winding gear for the incline is at the top. We will then follow Cadman Track back to the carpark.

The grade is medium, but there will be some steep climbs and some scrambling. It should take about 5 hours.

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