Kaiarara Driving Dam

Today was an energetic day - to say the least!! We had been anchored in Kaiarara Bay overnight and went ashore briefly yesterday where we noticed a DOC sign pointing along a track to the Dam; 2 hrs it said. So, 1st thing this morning with a very high spring tide we rowed ashore and could literally walk out of the dinghy onto the grass at Bush's Beach. So, off we went all bright eyed and bushy tailed along what was to start with a very pleasant easy track. As we climbed up the valley it gradually became steeper although interspersed with some beautiful sections of easy walking through native bush with a large number of young (and sometimes not so young) Kauri. DOC has done a great job with walking tracks but there were some spots where it simply wasn't possible to construct a track and these saw us scrambling round rock bluffs and climbing on all fours. After more than 2 hours we at last arrived at the dam and it was well worth the effort as the mind absolutely boggles at the sheer engineering feat of constructing such a massive timber structure high up in very rugged country.
The dams were used to dam water and Kauri logs until there was enough weight of water to send with sheer brute force all the logs down to the bay where they were rafted together for eventual sea transport to Auckland or the Kauri Timber Company sawmill at Whangaparapara. Apparently there were 2 smaller dams even higher up the valley which were tripped a few seconds before the main Kaiarara Driving Dam was tripped to ensure the maximum effect from the pent up water energy. The action of tripping the dam (which is 40 metres across) at relatively high altitude and sending hundreds of tons of water and logs crashing down the river evidently could be heard as a mighty roar for miles and the ground shook as if there had been an earthquake. Quite apart from the actual logging itself and the damage that must have been caused in getting the logs into the artificial lake that had been created behind the dam, the damage to the riverbed and surrounds when the whole conglomeration crashed through on its way to the sea must have been enormous and the whole enterprise of Kauri logging was certainly devoid of any environmental concern. In spite of that one has to have great admiration for the engineering genius that lay behind the construction of these massive timber structures so high up in what seems now to be virtually impassable rugged country with many sheer drops down high rock faces. The most well known of the bushmen was one George Murray and there is a photo of him and his 2 sons at the viewing platform in front of the dam. Apparently he was 6'8" and his 2 sons also both well over 6 feet tall. Not only did they need to be possessed of great engineering ingenuity but they also needed extreme physical strength.
We eventually arrived back at the beach 5 hours later but the tide had gone out of course which meant carrying the dinghy for some way over the mudflats. Not exactly what we felt like after our earlier exertions. However, we sat a while and had some more fruit cake which we'd taken with us and Gina exercised her hairdressing skills once again and cut Jim's hair. We're sure Noel would not have approved of the amount actually removed!! After arriving back on board Jim in particular was absolutely exhausted and slept for an hour. After some TLC from Gina in the form of appropriate homeopathics and some liniment rubbed on the knees he made a good recovery and we then prepared the boat for sea - getting the dinghy on board, sail cover off and everything lashed down in readiness for an early departure tomorrow morning. Weather forecast is looking good so here's hoping for a good sail back to Whangarei.
We'll let you know how it went!!
Cheers again,
J & J (G)

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