The Aratiatia Dam lies quietly on the outskirts of Taupo. Peaceful and still, you could be forgiven to think that this was just another dam. But controlled remotely in Hamilton, the waters are released through the Control Gates several times a day and the rapids flow, as they did naturally in the early 1960s - said to be the largest rapids in Australasia.
In the summer months, Taupo visitors are lucky to experience a fourth daily release. Not until 4pm, and feeling particularly time-rich, we decided to tiki-tour our way to the Aratiatia Dam as it's some 15 minutes drive from Taupo township.
With 8 minutes to spare, there were plenty of people already milling around the Aratiatia Bridge, straddling the Aratiatia Dam and a remarkably barren valley.
Rather than join the crowd, my road-trippers urged a "run for it" to an Upper Lookout some 10 minutes away, according to the DOC suggested time. While we could have made it with a jog, the coffee would have spilled and it could have got messy, so we opted for the closer 5 minute Lower Lookout viewing.
A helpful siren wails at the 10, 5 and 1 minute mark in preparation for the waters release. And with great anticipation, the gates opened slowly.....very slowly, and water silently spewed.
The rocky gully soon enveloped huge amounts of water, and minute by minute it giant pools billowed into the next, and progressed like a giant water game down the gorge.
By the time it passed the Lower Lookout the churning waters seemed to turn paricularly aqua blue.
The Aratiatia Dam releases its gates 10am, 12noon, 2pm daily (with the additional 4pm release during summer).
Very beautiful to see the before-and-after results. Slower than I imagined. Nice all the same, and glad I didn't spill my coffee.
Mighty River Power say: "Aratiatia literally means a series of pegs stuck into a steep ascent in a zig-zag pattern to make climbing easier. It may also refer to the travels of the ancestral explorer Tia of the Arawa canoe who made his way to these rapids while exploring the Waikato River."
Where on Earth is the Aratiatia Dam?
Taupo, North Island, NZ
View Things to do in the Central Plateau in a larger map
In the summer months, Taupo visitors are lucky to experience a fourth daily release. Not until 4pm, and feeling particularly time-rich, we decided to tiki-tour our way to the Aratiatia Dam as it's some 15 minutes drive from Taupo township.
With 8 minutes to spare, there were plenty of people already milling around the Aratiatia Bridge, straddling the Aratiatia Dam and a remarkably barren valley.
Rather than join the crowd, my road-trippers urged a "run for it" to an Upper Lookout some 10 minutes away, according to the DOC suggested time. While we could have made it with a jog, the coffee would have spilled and it could have got messy, so we opted for the closer 5 minute Lower Lookout viewing.
A helpful siren wails at the 10, 5 and 1 minute mark in preparation for the waters release. And with great anticipation, the gates opened slowly.....very slowly, and water silently spewed.
The rocky gully soon enveloped huge amounts of water, and minute by minute it giant pools billowed into the next, and progressed like a giant water game down the gorge.
By the time it passed the Lower Lookout the churning waters seemed to turn paricularly aqua blue.
The Aratiatia Dam releases its gates 10am, 12noon, 2pm daily (with the additional 4pm release during summer).
Very beautiful to see the before-and-after results. Slower than I imagined. Nice all the same, and glad I didn't spill my coffee.
Mighty River Power say: "Aratiatia literally means a series of pegs stuck into a steep ascent in a zig-zag pattern to make climbing easier. It may also refer to the travels of the ancestral explorer Tia of the Arawa canoe who made his way to these rapids while exploring the Waikato River."
Where on Earth is the Aratiatia Dam?
Taupo, North Island, NZ
View Things to do in the Central Plateau in a larger map
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