We have a property!

We heard yesterday that we have finally scored a property so we should be moving by the end of March - it's a big relief and we are looking forward to starting again.  Here's a piece of Kerikeri history...it's what remains of the old hydro-electric station which began to produce power to 17 customers on 11 July 1930 and it is stuck in the middle of the Rainbow Falls river walk.

A Mr George Alderton with a land developer and some of his customers were British civil servants that were wanting to settle in town. Alot of them were use to having a privileged life along with servants and maids etc, the wives were not impressed at having to do the manual work themselves which is why having electricity would be essential.  George set up his company so the settler's wives would be happy and want to buy the land.

He then employed Lloyd Mandeno to investigate the potential of a hydro station on the Kerikeri River. He said that it should supply at least 300 horsepower but because of low seasonal flooding the water should be diverted from the Puketotara River.

At the end of 1929 George Alderton's company began constructing the dam as well as the open water race for water diverted from the 2 rivers and in 1930 the power was turned on.  The surviving machinery of the powerhouse has been restored (above) and placed where it originally was so visitors can walk along the track and see inside.

Sunny day at the Whakamaru Dam

On our travels last weekend we stopped at a nearby lake and drove across the Whakamaru Dam. This baby is hydro-electric and owned by Mercury Energy.

It began being built in 1949 and took 3 years from start to finish. Power is sent from via 220 kv lines to the Bay of Plenty (where we live), Hawkes Bay, Manawatu and Hamilton.

Apparently there are some walking tracks around this area where people have sighted such birds as fantails, grey warblers, waxeyes and tuis.

The control center for the North Island of NZ was first established in 1964 and continued to operate until a replacement facility was found in Hamilton in 1992.

In 2013 a project was started to refurbish the turbines and generators. In 2016 the equipment arrived and was installed in 2017.

Along with ducks and swans this is a perfect place to fish for brown trout that average around 1.5kg.

Camping at Lake Aniwhenua

Welcome to Lake Aniwhenua. This scenic spot is located between Kaingaroa Forest and Te Urewera National Park, it is a man make lake formed by a hydro electric dam - very popular with campers.

The lake is long and narrow with a depth of roughly 2.5m and houses plenty of brown and rainbow Trout.

We were almost going to walk up to the waterfall but decided against it as the day was just beyond stifling and hot, I'm sure we were just over it by this point as we had been out since early that morning - think we just wanted to get home but I'm sure we will make the effort again at some point.

Karapiro Power Station

This is the Karapiro Power Station just out of Hamilton, the Waikato River has 8 other hydroelectric power stations - this one is the last of them. Construction started in 1940, the building certainly looks vintage, and was completed in 1947.

It's purpose is to maintain the flow of water in the lower part of the river during catchment and low electricity demand. To keep the river flow and a reasonable level only 2 turbines are needed - the third is used for peak generation and maintenance on one of the others. Mercury Energy operates all the hydro electric power stations on the Waikato River.

On this day we visited this place it had been raining on and off all morning, the stormy skies reflected in the background show how temperamental the weather has been.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday :-)