abtc waitakere

Well-known tramps done repeatedly by the Club over the years always prove popular, and this one - the Waitakere Tramline and Dam - was no exception, drawing a group of 18 people. It is interesting to note that the first-ever Club tramp, on 25 April 1979, was to this place.

From The Bracken we drove to Anderson's Track on Scenic Drive, the start of our tramp. We left some cars at tramp's end, the private access road to Waitakere Dam about five minutes down the road. We started by dropping down to the Waitakere Tramline near the long tunnel which goes under Scenic Drive to the Waitakere Filter Station. As we approached the tramline we saw a train approaching. This was the Two Foot Gauge Club, which runs a small train from the filter station to the Waitakere Dam for interested groups. The train was returning from the dam, and we saw it disappear into the long tunnel which the driver had to unlock to get in.

We walked along the tramline, which was built in the 1910's to service the Waitakere Dam and pipeline and had our afternoon stop at a little railway station and picnic spot about halfway between the tunnel and the dam. Afterwards we went through a short tunnel and carried on up to the dam.

The full reservoir behind the dam was a far cry from the water crisis of winter 1994 when the dams were less than a third full and Aucklanders were faced with the threat of water rationing. This crisis was over within a few months thanks to heavy rain and conservation by householders.

Some of us crossed the dam and went to a lookout on the other side before taking a track to the bottom of the dam and up to the start of the dam. This track also leads to the takeoff site for Adrenalin Adventures which runs commercial abseiling adventure trips.

The trip finished with an uphill walk along the private access road to the carpark on Scenic Drive, shortened by social conversation.

COST: $4.