Wairoa Dam

Day 25, Friday 15 September 2017

I went to the Hunua Ranges Regional Park today, and visited the closest dam, Wairoa. Access is via Moumoukai Road off Hunua Road. There’s a very short gravel road at the end with a carpark, and a gated road leading closer to the dam. On the three occasions I’ve been there, the gate was closed once. Today it was open, and I was able to go a couple of kilometres further before reaching closed gates with signs saying “No private vehicles beyond this point”. The gravel road was in good condition and wouldn’t pose a problem for any motorcycle, but the carpark near the start has a steep entrance which might be difficult for a heavy bike.

There’s a 3.9 km loop walk to the top of the dam, going across a suspension bridge and up to a lookout point. I chose to walk on the private road instead and returned the same way, which was probably no shorter than doing the loop would have been. A pleasant walk with nice views.

Distance travelled: 117 km. Total distance so far: 3551 km