Waikato District Council has announced that the Pipiwharauroa Trail (Te Uku Wind Farm Trail) will open in late July. The 18km long track on privately-owned farmland is on the Wharauroa Plateau east of Te Uku. The trail, a joint initiative by Waikato District Council, Meridian Energy and landowners will allow the public access to the site that affords outstanding 360 degree views over the greater Waikato, including Raglan, Kawhia and Aotea harbours and on a clear day, Mt Taranaki.
The track offers a unique opportunity to experience the history of the site and a chance to get close to a number of the 137 metre high turbines in operation. At the summit, a historic site treasured by local iwi, Ngati Mahanga is known as Te Tiho o Tonganui. The site pays homage to three ancestors, Mahanga the eponymous ancestor and namesake of the tribe, Tonganui the warrior and Hone Waitere.
The track winds its way over private farmland owned by the Vanhoutte and Jowsey families who have a long association with the area. The Vanhoutte family’s ties to the area date to 1897, when Maurice Vanhoutte’s grandfather, Belgian immigrant Benoit Vanhoutte, settled on the windswept plateau.
The formation of the Pipiwharauroa Trail over existing paper roads has been made possible with the co-operation and goodwill of the landowners. Cyclists and walkers will need to keep to the track which covers private farmland. The track crosses steep to rolling terrain and will take approximately four hours to walk or two hours to cycle return.
Would you please explain WHERE the track starts & finishes.
Thankyou.
The gates and signs are in place and it is now just waiting for the official opening. The official opening will be taking place on the 27th August and will be accessible from that point onwards. I have asked for a map and will put it on the Raglan Website when it is provided.