Waihi Day 11

Wednesday 2^nd April 2025

Day 11 – Waihi

Geoff’s second day of training at Oceana Gold office.  After dropping him off for an 8am start I ventured out into a somewhat gloomier day than yesterday.  I retraced our steps from Monday for 12 kms and stopped in at Karangahake Gorge and followed the paths to the old Talisman and Woodstock batteries located on the steep banks of the Waitawheta River After climbing up some stairs I followed a restored tramway through mine tunnels past a series of openings/windows, hence the name Windows Walk.  These windows provided a great view to the river gorge below.  The tunnels were quite long and very dark, requiring a torch to navigate safely.  Unfortunately, the return path via the Crown Tramway on the other side of the gorge was closed off due to a land slip, so I had to retrace my steps through the tunnels.

The weather held out until I drove back into Waihi.  After a coffee up town I have taken the afternoon out to prepare for our departure, meaning I am doing some washing and repacking a few things. I had thought at first, I might drive on over to Athenee Hot Springs, but the day doesn’t look so good for an afternoon outdoors in a hot springs pool.

This evening, we drove down to Bowentown, passing by Waihi Beach and turning south to the bottom of the peninsula. There’s a fishing club there that serves meals. The outlook over the bay was great, if not a bit grey but that suited us well.  Dining anywhere with a view is always much better than being locked into the 4 walls of a small shop. I dined on Gunnard while Geoff enjoyed some scallops. Asking nicely, I managed to escape the deep-fried version of everything related to seafood and managed some tasty panfried fillets.