Aorere Goldfields

If you don't have a high clearance vehicle you can park at the farm gate and walk 1 km to carpark.

From carpark the track climbs up an old 4x4 road, then becomes a gravelled track through manuka/kanuka bush past old gold workings with occasional views of the Aorere Valley. After several kilometres you come to a track junction beside a stream. Don't cross the stream but carry on round the track where soon you come to a turn off to Stafford Cave, which is only 2 minutes down a side track and worth a look.

Carrying on the track you come to the turn off to the Ballroom Cave which is a 6 minute detour but worth a look as it was actually used as a Ballroom during gold miner times and is cool to venture into. The track carries on around, following an old hand dug drain till you climb up to the dam and the lake which was built to help with mining operations in the early 1900's. The lake is quite neat set in amongst open regenerating forest with a mountain back drop.

Carrying on the track follows the lake for a while before dropping into and out of creek beds and you reach a junction point which gives you two choices of return to the carpark - by a bush track or to carry on down an old 4x4 track. Either is good and equal distance.