This is one of the best day hikes we’ve done since moving to Whanganui. The great thing about it is that you can do the full hike down to the dam and back, or a shorter walk around the other trails. With a canopy of Native New Zealand forest (some original tawa and rimu trees, and some regeneration from when the land was brought by Whanganui district council in 1903) this is the perfect place to explore if your looking to spend the day Mong the trees in a classic NZ forest.
Time: 4.5hours
Difficulty: medium
Dog friendly: Yes
Location: 45 minute drive north west of Whanganui. Link of location:
Every Easter we spent the Saturday out doing a day hike. It’s a little family tradition we stared before we were even engaged. It’s a fitting way to both celebrate Easter, enjoy creation and reconnect. This year (2019) we decided to finally make it all the way to the Waitahinga Dam, which has been on our to-do list for ever. We had made it as far as the clearing before, when Bowie was just a tiny we thing, but he got so tired that we decided to turn back at this point. Here’s some pics from that trip:
Waitahinga Dam was built in 1904 (with some height added in 1926) as a way to solve Whanganui’s water problems. It was decommissioned in the 1990’s. As you can see, the dam was absolutely beautiful and we had a great day exploring and introducing the pup Bowie to the great outdoors. He was best on the leash as there are wild goats and sheep sharing the area.
We took the route down Tom’s Ridge and back up Harry’s Ridge (both named after members of the Whanganui Tramping club which created the trails for their 60th anniversary celebration). We only did it this was because we always prefer a loop track over a there-and-back. But you could do it anyway you like, or return over and over and do a slightly different track each time.
The track is well marked with little triangle markers, but make sure to keep an eye out for them because it’s easy to wander off down an animal track and get a bit lost. The different tracks have different coloured markers, which match the colour of the trail on the main map at the entrance. The tracks are signposted, but I would definitely recommend taking a quick pic at the start of the map to refer back to-to give you an idea of timeframes and which tracks to take.
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Plan to stop for lunch either in the sun at Croppers clearing, or in the shade at a picnic table where okehu ridge meets rimu walk (the first time) if your looking for a shorter walk (this would be the perfect length if you’re with the kids).
We definitely want to head back and explore the pines and the chicken run. We ran out of time on this occasion because we hadn’t packed any snacks and were starving by the time we got to the dam and made a bee line back to the car.
This is a hike I would happily do again and again. Maybe next time we’ll take the GPS so that we can do some geocaching. Hopefully we will bump in to you out there this summer!!
Happy hiking
Moo-chelle
Hi – the dam is actually called the Okehu Dam. And – the water was never actually delivered to Wanganui – but was used to drive turbines which sucked water out of the underground aquifer approx 500M further up Rangitatua E Rd from Brunswick Road. I have a number of historic photos of the dam and the “pump station”. If you want any info contact me at Murray.l.benson@gmail.com (the l in the email address is l as in land). Cheers
That’s so interesting, thanks Murray!! 🙂
Oooh thanks for the info Murray! That’s so interesting. I will flick you an email 🙂
We tried to make it there the other day but was a bit deterred by the gravel road and lack of signage. We will try again.
Definitely try again, it’s soo worth it!! The gravel road is fine for 2wd and you sort of have to trust your gut, it’s much further that you think. Hopefully this info helps 🙂