Where does Auckland's water come from? From big reservoirs in the Waitakeres, of course. Almost all of it shoots through the bush in this pipe right here (for scale, its diameter is nearly up to my hip).
And how did I get to become acquainted with this pipe? Because WaterCare will take you to visit it on a special narrow-gauge railway trip along the original path used by the builders when they constructed the pipeline around the turn of the century.
Here are Mom and Dad inside the train. It's a bit cramped because it has to fit inside the tunnels. The driver warned us not to stick our hands or heads (especially heads!) out of the cars--there are only 1-2 inches of clearance.
What tunnels? These tunnels! There are 19 of them. Some are very short, but this one goes on for half a kilometer. They were all hand-hewn although some of them have since been coated in concrete or blocks. See the bird's nest?
Here is the interior of another tunnel. Those are cave wetas.
Some of the tunnels had glow worms on their ceilings. The conductor turned out the lights and slowed down and we watched the ghostly blue stars pass by within inches of our eyes.
When we weren't underground, there was some stunning scenery to enjoy as we dieseled through. This lake is another reservoir (with a separate sub-pipe that we did not visit). On its far left side, you can just make out the dam which we visited in the first photo here.
These photos are all facing roughly south, looking out through the hills toward the Manukau Harbor.
At one point the conductor was all, 'This might be a nice place to stop and stretch your legs a bit,' so we did. It turned out to be a little difficult to have a walk-around, though...
Because he'd stopped us in the centre of an old trestle bridge!
What a unusual experience this was turning out to be. We ducked through a few more tunnels and then ended up at the main dam. And because this is New Zealand and they actually encourage you to participate in this sort of madness for fun, we climbed up it. 'No children under five,' he warned us. Safety first and all.
See what we climbed? If your palms are getting a little clammy thinking about it, well, that's about right.
Here is what we drink. Because this lake is fed by a huge watershed, it would take only 2-3 hours of heavy rain to fill it from this point.
Then we ate our picnic and retraced our steps back home. And that is the story of Auckland's water!
And how did I get to become acquainted with this pipe? Because WaterCare will take you to visit it on a special narrow-gauge railway trip along the original path used by the builders when they constructed the pipeline around the turn of the century.
Here are Mom and Dad inside the train. It's a bit cramped because it has to fit inside the tunnels. The driver warned us not to stick our hands or heads (especially heads!) out of the cars--there are only 1-2 inches of clearance.
What tunnels? These tunnels! There are 19 of them. Some are very short, but this one goes on for half a kilometer. They were all hand-hewn although some of them have since been coated in concrete or blocks. See the bird's nest?
Here is the interior of another tunnel. Those are cave wetas.
Some of the tunnels had glow worms on their ceilings. The conductor turned out the lights and slowed down and we watched the ghostly blue stars pass by within inches of our eyes.
When we weren't underground, there was some stunning scenery to enjoy as we dieseled through. This lake is another reservoir (with a separate sub-pipe that we did not visit). On its far left side, you can just make out the dam which we visited in the first photo here.
These photos are all facing roughly south, looking out through the hills toward the Manukau Harbor.
At one point the conductor was all, 'This might be a nice place to stop and stretch your legs a bit,' so we did. It turned out to be a little difficult to have a walk-around, though...
Because he'd stopped us in the centre of an old trestle bridge!
What a unusual experience this was turning out to be. We ducked through a few more tunnels and then ended up at the main dam. And because this is New Zealand and they actually encourage you to participate in this sort of madness for fun, we climbed up it. 'No children under five,' he warned us. Safety first and all.
See what we climbed? If your palms are getting a little clammy thinking about it, well, that's about right.
Here is what we drink. Because this lake is fed by a huge watershed, it would take only 2-3 hours of heavy rain to fill it from this point.
Then we ate our picnic and retraced our steps back home. And that is the story of Auckland's water!
2 comments:
My dear niece, you are a natural at photo-journalism! There aren't very many people who know (let alone appreciate) where their water comes from. I love that you took lots of pix of your mom and dad. The one where they are still on the trestle with the train makes me wonder what dangers you took to get the pic! My palms are sweaty just looking at it - and the climb you took up the dam - I don't think I could do it!
Woohoooo!!! This was an adventure all right! Glad I didn't have to climb anything tho...and I still got to see it! Thanks for sharing this. Loved it!!! XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Post a Comment