Cascade Kauri & Waitakere Dam Loop

We are going to the Cascade Kauri area in northeast Waitakere Ranges for a loop hike that will take us deep into atmospheric untainted mature kauri forest, to Waitakere Dam, and along a pituresque historic tramline. We'll walk through a tunnel, under a stream overshoot, across some streams, and see many large kauri specimens, a variety of native forest, a dam, reservoir, waterfalls (Waitakere Falls will hopefully be in good flow after lots of winter rain), and some good views.

Weather Update (Sat 9:30pm): Improving forecast for Sunday is "Cloudy periods and a few showers". Forecasts have been changing wildly so be well prepared for rain, and wet tracks due to recent rain ... This hike will go ahead regardless of weather (although the route may be changed if stream levels are too high).

Distance: about 8km
Duration: up to 4.5 hours including stops for lunch, etc.
Difficulty: about 3.5 on 1-5 scale of difficulty for day hikes we do. Route includes easy flat walking tracks and rough tramping tracks that are steep and muddy in places. There is a steep climb up Upper Kauri Track and a steep descent down Anderson Track, although no great heights are reached. Cascade Track is up and down and rougher than other tracks, but only 1km. There are 2 main stream crossings - these can normally be rock hopped without getting feet wet but may require shin deep wade if stream levels are high. (Recent rain may increase difficulty to 4.)

Route Description:
(Click map photo above for closer view and follow purple arrows.)
From carpark, loop anticlockwise along Auckland City Walk, right up Upper Kauri Track, left onto Cascade Track, across Cascade Stream, straight past Robinson Track, right onto Fenceline track to Waitakere Dam. Unnamed track to left of dam goes up to lookout and down to base of dam then back up to top of dam. Turn left up road, then left again down steps to Waitakere Tramline Walk. Follow tramline under Kelly Stream overshoot, through tunnel to Picnic Flat shelter. Turn left onto West Tunnel Mouth Track just before second tunnel (locked), then left onto Anderson Track, across Waitakere Stream, and continue back to Auckland City Walk junction. A large kauri at Fenceline junction is about 20m to left. Turn right to complete Auckland City Walk then left at Falls Road back to carpark.

Meeting Places:
Initially, we'll be Meeting at Victoria Park New World (https://www.meetup.com/hiking-171/pages/Meeting_at_Victoria_Park_New_World/) to arrange carpooling.
Then we'll drive to Cascade Kauri carpark at end of Falls Road (off Te Henga Road on way to Bethells Beach) - see map for directions (https://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=-36.848462,174.750617&daddr=The+Cascades,+Auckland,+New+Zealand&hl=en&geocode=%3BCX_eJZYxRvfqFfohzf0dLQBnCikXpwMJimsNbTFBOblO1ivQ2Q&mra=mi&mrsp=0&sz=16&sll=-36.846933,174.745789&sspn=0.007538,0.013454&ie=UTF8&ll=-36.879552,174.52383&spn=0.03014,0.053816&z=14) (note that Falls Road continues further south than map indicates).
(Best if most people meet at New World first but if this is too far out of your way then okay to go straight to Cascade Kauri - just let us know.)

Time Guideline:

• 09:15 - Good time to arrive at New World
• 09:30 - All at New World now, arrange carpooling
• 09:40 - Leave New World by now
• 10:15 - Arrive at Cascade Kauri carpark, introductions
• 10:30 - Start hike
• 15:00 - Approx finish hike
• 16:00 - Approx return Auckland

Bring:

• lunch and water/drink
• suitable clothing for winter
• suitable footwear for tramping tracks
• rain protection
• plastic bags for muddy boots in car
• money for carpooling (if passenger, suggest $10)

Notes:
(1) 9:30am is the latest time to arrive at New World and 10:15 is the latest time to arrive at Cascade Kauri if going straight there. We will look to leave New World and start hike exactly on time. Arriving early is good :-)
(2) There are many tracks in the Cascade Kauri area, some of which lead a long way off course, so extra care is needed to follow the correct route and not get lost!
(3) We'll aim to hike together as a group and wait at track junctions, but there's no guarantee this will happen so prepare for this hike as best you can (study map and route description, and bring copy of map if you can).
(4) We'll hike at our usual moderate pace with stops at places of interest along the way, and a lunch stop at the dam or Picnic Flat.
(5) This hike is a variation of the route we hiked on 17 May 2009 (https://www.meetup.com/hiking-171/calendar/10317278/?from=list&offset=0), replacing parts of Auckland City Walk and Fenceline Track with Cascade Track and part of Upper Kauri Track to maximise kauri experience, and going opposite direction around dam loop.
(6) The climb up Upper Kauri Track and the rough Cascade Track near the beginning of the route are probably most difficult parts of the hike. For safety and to fully appreciate the nature of the kauri forest, we'll take our time on these tracks. After this it becomes easier.

See you there :-)