Upper Nihotupu Dam Trip

Wow... we had a fabulous trip to the Upper Nihotupu Dam.

It was amazing to learn about how the rain that falls in the Waitakere Ranges makes it's way to our taps. It was incredible to actually see the water cycle instead of in the page of a book or the internet.

We also discovered so much about the forest (the landscape, the fresh smell, the trees, the bird calls, the grass whistles).

Plus we found out that we CAN walk for 40 minutes, break for lunch, and walk another 40 minutes without dying! True story! 

We just had so much fun.

Leaving Papatoetoe we were pretty excited

We traveled first to the Arataki Visitor Centre where we were met by the Auckland Council Educators. We had a quick break and borrowed a few raincoats and then got back on the coach for the final bus ride to the beginning of the track.

This was super exciting for so many of us! More than half of the children who came on the trip with us had never been for a walk in the New Zealand forest before. Their excitement was barely contained!

Ready!

Finding out how to be safe and all stay behind the leader but in front of "Tail End Charlie"

How tall a kauri grows in 10- 20 years.

Simon explaining what to take with you to be prepared on a bush walk (And I forgot to pack my torch!)

The stream was filled to bursting point

The second waterfall was so loud!

Fresh water flowing into the reservoir from every direction

After lunch we followed the tramlines up to the base of the dam.

 The water that collects in the reservoir is piped to the water treatment plant via massive gravity fed pipes. These pipes gently slope all the way down from the elevated dam to distribution points around Auckland. It's a very clever piece of engineering which saves a lot of electricity in pumping water for the city.

 The native bush was stunning and it felt strange walking on the tracks even though we knew the train doesn't run in winter!

The spillway allows the dam to release water when it is at 100% capacity when needed

 When we arrived at the base of the dam the children were amazed at the amount of water overflowing, the speed it was moving and the height of the dam. We can't believe a structure built around the time of WW1 is still so strong and functional. It surely is one of NZ's engineering marvels.

Brace yourselves - we're going up!

Easy peazy!

Arriving at the top, we all had to say how many steps we counted like handing money over to the toll master.
156!
157!
155!
156!
Me, too!
167
What?!
159
Nah, you must've counted some twice...
156!
Miss Rands-Trevor got 156 too so it must be right!
(Maybe... )

Not silver ferns but carried like golden treasures

Did you guys know that that waterfall is still going right this minute? Perhaps not so thunderous, but it hasn't stopped in thousands of years

The joy of discovering nature

We walked back to the coach feeling tired but energised. Bursting with new knowledge and feeling like real kiwi kids living the dream.

It was a truly awesome day out.

Get amongst it, kids and enjoy this beautiful country of ours.