360 Day Photography Challenge – Day 31 – Arapuni Dam

Arapuni is a town and Arapuni Dam is by that. The first picture is of Arapuni view of the Waikato region. 

The next picture is where I had to raise my camera with my hands to get above a wire fence that was over 9 feet high. This area is fenced off, because over the fence there is grass that goes to a very steep bank. Infact its so steep here, you cant even see the bottom. Its to keep people safe.

You can see the top here there is also a wire fence by this bridge as well for the same reason, its part of the road from which we had driven across, it is a one way bridge only. Two cars cant go in opposite directions here. 

Im taking photos from land in-between 2 bridges.

This is the road that is over the dam bridge and here you can see the Waikato river going south. There is a red line floating on top of the water. No swimming is allowed here. I think that it is far too dangerous.

New Zealand does not have nuclear reactors for power supply, we are dependant on hydro-electric power stations. Some are along the Waikato river and others along South Island locations. The weight of the water falling causes the turbo to move and give off electricity. It is a very natural way to gain electric power without harming the environment. 

As for the island in the middle where we parked. There are public toilets and here in the above photo is the surroundings of NZ native bush. A ponga tree and some flax and other NZ foliage. Its very green and beautiful.

This part goes to a road that goes further and is fenced off to the public so you are not allowed to go down this road. It is known to the people who work here at the Arapuni Dam or DOC and there are legitimate reasons why.

I wanted to take some more photos of Arapuni town but the pathway was lonely and went down a very steep hill and its unsafe to go down there alone. One could easily fall into the Waikato river or there may be strangers there that are unsavoury people that could do you harm. 

Even in NZ which is generally a friendly place there is an aspect of people that do others a lot of harm for their own reasons. It is wise to follow your gut and not go to places like this by yourself. 

However, nearby there is “Little Waipa” park.

Here are 2 people going boating in the Waikato river. Around this area, you can hire Kayaks for the day. There is 2 or 3 areas near by but not at Little Waipa.

As I said  don’t do this alone.Go with company. My husband cant walk far as he has physical disabilities and so I cant walk too far from our car. So when you have a husband or wife who cant walk far or do much physically it pays to go to a gym if you are OK yourself. It always pays to keep fit. So I go to a local gym on a regular basis. They are a friendly place and it has a nice atmosphere. 

As you can see, there are people who ride bikes or walk on public footpaths throughout Arapuni. On a nice day with company its a pleasant ride which I would love to do myself.