I had heard the tales of the old power station in the Manawahae hills that utilised the flow of the Karaponga stream the supply power to the Whakatane township and a past attempt to discovering this piece of history had yielded nothing. So following a call from local councilor,
Bill Clark we headed off. I think the idea of a guided tour was a good one as there was no way in hell I was going to find the old turbine on my own.
Built in 1928 there's not much left of one of the turbines. Its amazing how nature will always have the last say as the last remaining turbine is slowly disappearing under a blanket of moss and vines.
Pictured below is the original dam used to hold water ready for its flight down the valley to the turbines. The old pipes have long rusted away but the dam remains. I was unable to find any images of this dam on the net so am glad to have one to share. I was a little nervous about exposing my camera to the large amounts of spray the water was kicking up so didn't muck around taking this shot.
Ok, so at this point things sound like a rather lazy stroll, that was until Bill thought it would be a good idea to photograph the waterfall not to far below the dam. Here is where things to hairy. Now, scaling a steeeeep rock face, coated in moss and slime covered rocks while negotiating a raging torrent, and doing this while trying to keep several grands worth of camera gear in a backpack "dry" ???. That Little orange dot is my partner Mandy Hague who wisely refused to go any further.
The camera certainly survived, largely due to my ability to stay upright but I was soaked through. Looking back over the shots, it was worth it.
Pictured below is the original dam used to hold water ready for its flight down the valley to the turbines. The old pipes have long rusted away but the dam remains. I was unable to find any images of this dam on the net so am glad to have one to share. I was a little nervous about exposing my camera to the large amounts of spray the water was kicking up so didn't muck around taking this shot.
Ok, so at this point things sound like a rather lazy stroll, that was until Bill thought it would be a good idea to photograph the waterfall not to far below the dam. Here is where things to hairy. Now, scaling a steeeeep rock face, coated in moss and slime covered rocks while negotiating a raging torrent, and doing this while trying to keep several grands worth of camera gear in a backpack "dry" ???. That Little orange dot is my partner Mandy Hague who wisely refused to go any further.
The camera certainly survived, largely due to my ability to stay upright but I was soaked through. Looking back over the shots, it was worth it.
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