Walk Details
NZ Walking Routes > Taupo - Central Plateau > Opepe Graves and Northern/Southern Walking Track
Opepe Graves and Northern/Southern Walking Track
- Location
- Follow the Napier/Taupo Highway (SH 5) 17 km from Taupo. The highway bisects Opepe Scenic and Historic Reserve and there are car parks on both sides of the road.
- Description
Northern Walk
On the northern side a short walk, a loop track, brings you to a graveyard where members of the Bay of Plenty Cavalry, who died in an engagement with followers of the Maori warrior Te Kooti, are buried. Later, residents of Opepe Township and the Armed Constabulary were also buried there. Continue around the bush loop track through mature podocarp (rimu, matai, miro) forest – unusual in this region as so much was destroyed by the Taupo eruption of 186AD and later by fires and the woodman's axe.Southern Walk
This track is situated on the southern side of SH5. Taking the track to the right from the car park you have the option of walking to a pitsaw pit and returning (20 minutes return) or continuing around the loop. Approximately 20 minutes past the pitsaw pit is an historic water trough and totara fence, relics of the old township. As you continue up the track to the site of Opepe township you cross the orginal Napier Taupo Road. At one time Opepe Township had a hotel, a store and several dwellings. The remains of water wells can still be seen.An Armed Constabulary stockade, occupied from 1869 to 1885, was situated on the western escarpment.
- Duration
- 1.0 hours
- Level
- Easy
- Amenities
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- Birds
- Carpark
- Historical
- Plant Life
- Source
- www.doc.govt.nz
- Discussion
- Start a discussion on this walk