Features
The Kaimai Heritage Trail showcases historic places from New Zealand's goldmining and logging heyday. Physical remains include mine buildings and tunnels, logging tramways, and railway infrastructure such as bridges and tunnels.
Karangahake
Historic features at the entrance to the Windows Walk, Karangahake
The Talisman, Woodstock and Crown mines are accessible via The Windows Walk. These remains are Category I Historic Places. Karangahake also features a cavernous underground pumphouse which is open to the pubic via a tunnel.
The historic railway line from Karangahake to the Victoria Battery and Waikino can be either walked or cycled. At Karangahake, the 1km long railway tunnel can be seen on a loop walk. Crossing the historic rail bridges at either end of the tunnel completes the railway experience for short stop visitors.
Waihi
The Martha Mine at Waihi has a long history, and presents a major visitor attraction in its own right. The huge Victoria Battery complex at nearby Waikino is an historic reserve featuring visitor information and displays. Numerous foundations and other remains can be seen at Victoria Battery, presenting a glimpse of the battery's original scale. The power Transformer House is a listed building and now serves as a museum. The huge ore roasting kilns have been excavated and protected, and are on show to the visitor. Underground tours and a mining tramway are run on the site by the Victoria Battery Tramway Society.
A tramway turntable lies at the heart of the Waitawheta Mill site
An impressive logging tramway in the Waitawheta Valley was constructed by the Waihi Gold Mining Company and was later extended and developed by the Kauri Timber Company and others. This tramway forms the basis of the Waitawheta Tramway Walk, leading to the site of the historic Waitawheta Mill where remains include timbers, tramway turntables, and the start of the Waipapa Haul Line.
Te Aroha
A courageous public works initiative, the Piako County Tramway, connects the various mines in the Waiorongomai Valley. A series of large inclines are the most impressive features of the tramway which, with associated machinery and building remains, can be explored by the visitor.
Natural features
The geological formation of this part of New Zealand included a period of vulcanism which led to the deposits of gold and other precious minerals. The Kaimai Range is uplifted along the Hauraki Fault Line leading to an impressive western escarpment and more gentle eastern slopes. The range is protected as the Kaimai Mamaku Conservation Park, gazetted in 1975.
The northern Kaimai includes kauri forest (now regenerating) and is a mix of podocarp, beech and broadleaf forest, with coastal forest at the eastern fringes and semi-alpine forest near the ridges.
Common native birds such as tui and bellbird are readily seen and heard, but the natural populations of kaka, kokako, kiwi and karearea are no longer present. Introduced animal pests such as possum, mustelids and rats are a threat to forest health here. Deer and pig are less common here than in the southern parts of the park.