Nihotapu Dam - Part One

There is a road from Titirangi, West Auckland to go further west. This day we drove out to Huia and there is a very nice cafe to have coffee.

On the way back I stopped at Upper Nihotapu Dam. There is also a lower Nihotapu Dam near Huia. Its of many water supplies for the growing population of Auckland city.

You turn off the road to the Upper Nihotapu Dam access. You cant walk along the Dam area. It has been raining for a while so the Dam is full.

Now the first 2 photos are taken from another journey, from the Arataki Visitor centre in Scenic drive. If any one of you comes to New Zealand and Auckland, this is a must see. A view you won’t forget.

This entire post is taken inside the Waitakere ranges, which gets a lot of rainfall during the year.

#1 This is Nihotapu Dam from Arataki Visitor Centre.

The Dam part is the bottom and the upper water part is the Manukau Harbour. The Manukau harbour is the 2nd largest harbour in New Zealand.

Note the Spill way part. Where we soon commence showing you this closer up.

I now take these views from different perspectives.

Some years back the water wasn't flowing so swiftly and I took some photos of bird life here as well. No birds today.

There is a bridge here which is shut off to visitors, probably for a very good reason.

There is a view from the other side of a track that leads to another viewing perspective. I don't recommend that you walk down it alone, its 20 minutes walk.

There are reeds growing around it that makes it interesting.

The water is extremely swift and loud this day. The spill water leads to a road that takes the water to a purification plant to make the water safe to drink.