Seddonville Falls

A prominent feature in Seddonville is a 7m high waterfall. There's no easy way to get to it, but a local gave me directions to get to the top. First, take the single lane gravel road opposite Hope Street. He assured me that this is a legal road, and a check online reveals that at least the first part of it is on road reserve: it is part of the reserve for Hope Street. This section of road zigzags up the hill. From the top of the hill walk across towards the waterfall: first across a paddock, and then through bush. Once in the bush it was obvious that others had been here before, although not tracked or marked. I emerged out right at the top of the falls, and had the view below.

The falls as seen from the road.

View from the top of the falls.

Trig F (Mokihinui)

Just a short 1km walk from the Seddonville Motorcamp, being in the area it was too good to pass up!

Officially given the code A5CX, the Geoditic Databse says that this survey mark is "Not beaconed"! I shall forward the photos to LINZ and get that entry rectified.

Right: Trig F with Mt Glasgow behind.
Below left: View along Mokihinui Rd towards Mt Glasgow.
Below right: View back down Mokihinui Rd towards Seddonville.

Seddonville

The Mokihinui Valley should perhaps be called the Valley of Unrequited Dreams: the river sparkles with Fools' Gold, and at the right time of year there is an influx of whitebaiters hoping to catch the delicacy that sells for over $100/kg in North Island shops. The old timers will tell you of days past when the "spotters" in the river used to go black as the huge shoals of whitebait swum past, but those days are long gone.

At the head of the valley lies the township of Seddonville, once the base for logging and coal mining operations. Coal mining was centred particularly around Chasm Creek, Coal Creek, and Charming Creek - the latter being one of the longest lived mines in New Zealand.¹ Even those activities have an element of unrequited dreams: Seddonville was the site of the first state-owned coal mine in 1893, but that struggled and closed after just 21 years; and private mining ceased in the 1990s as the high sulphur coal became difficult to sell.²

The Grader works on one of the side streets

Nowdays Seddonville no longer has any particular reason for continued existence, and like many small New Zealand settlements continues to exist solely because it was established at some point in history when there was more work to be done.

At the end of a side road that leads up the valley from the main road through to Karamea, the main reasons for visiting Seddonville would seem to be to walk the Chasm Creek walkway, walk the Charming Creek walkway, or to fish for whitebait when it is in season. The Mokihinui is a good river for trout fishing, but will never draw the same numbers as flock to the Tongariro River and Lake Taupo.

Seddonville Hotel

Any visitors must surely visit the Seddonville Hotel, which is also the local cafe, restaurant, dairy, and motels. We never sampled the fair from the cafe, but the meals were very good, and the newly refurbushed motels were excellent. It also appears to be a place to visit in its own right - three middle aged motorcyclists were observed arriving, then after some refreshments tinkering with their bikes for about half an hour or so before riding back out to the main road.

A testament to more prosperous and populous times, the old school has been converted into a Holiday Park. Rates are reasonable, both for caravans and the (very tidy) bunk rooms. The toilets and showers are very clean, and the kitchen and common room are very welcoming. For my money, the Seddonville Holiday Park is a better standard than the larger holiday parks in more popular locations.

View from the section

Just past the old school, where Gladstone Street becomes Charming Creek Road, an unsealed driveway climbs steeply up a low hill to a 1 acre section. At the top of the driveway is a decrepit old caravan and piles of old wood, iron, and other assorted items. The driveway turns left into a flat site, cleared a year ago, but now being reclaimed by gorse. We are told that the section was bought 5 years ago by someone on Waiheke Island who wanted to "live the dream", but is now being sold as the dream slips further away. There would be extensive views of the valley with a little bit of clearing, but the price was more than a little steep for a section with no utility services - no power or phone. The owner will be hoping for another gold rush perhaps!

Regardless of the above, or more likely because of it, Seddonville is a remarkable place to visit. The pace of life slows and one can really relax. I hope to be back again in the not too far distant future.

Notes:
[1] New Zealand History online: Charming Creek
[2] New Zealand History online: Seddonville

Links:

• Seddonville Hotel

Charming Creek

The Charming Creek walkway follows an old tramline that was used for extracting coal and timber from the Charming Creek area. The northern end of the walkway starts at the old mine entrance. From there the track descends gently downhill to the Ngakawau River and then down through the Ngakawau Gorge to the coast.

The Charming Creek end of the walkway has a number of old relics, including old boilers. The track passes another vertical boiler that has been painted to better preserve it, and then winds passed a large flat area that appears to have been the site of a coal stockpile. While isolated railway sleepers have appeared at odd intervals till this point, now there are several long straights with all the closely-spaced sleepers still in place.

Steam Engine at Mumm's Mill

Mumm's Mill has the mill steam engine under cover, and informative story boards describing the operation of the mill. There are also a number of other relics in the area, including isolated sections of rail.

Just before a small swing bridge is a small spring, leaching sulphur. This is apparently the site of a hole drilled during coal prospecting in the period 1910-1912. Across the bridge and the scenery becomes more spectacular as the old railway formation begins to wind its way through the Ngakawau Gorge.

Mangatini Falls

Mangatini Falls are first seen approaching a tunnel, then once through the tunnel again visible and more spectacular. A side track leads down to the river to provide better views.

Section of track showing wooden centre rail used for braking. Ngakawau Gorge

The track remains largely intact along this section, including a wooden centre rail which would have been used for braking to slow heavy coal trains as they descended through the gorge. The track then crosses a swing bridge before edging its way along the bottom of some sheer rock walls (marked with signs pointing out the danger of falling rocks).

View of Ngakawau River mouth

Finally down to "The Bins", which was also the site of a railway siding. Near here are views down towards the mouth of the Ngakawau River, including the road bridge for the road north.

The posted time for the walkway is 3 hours on the DOC sign, but it took us about 1h45 with some running, some walking, stops for photos and to admire the views, and stops to read the information boards.

Plan showing coal at Charming Creek. Source (with explanatory text): New Zealand History online

Links:

• Route on MapMyRun
• Mining at Charming Creek - Seddonville, Ministry for Culture and Heritage, updated 16-Feb-2009
• Charming Creek Walkway, Department of Conservation

Chasm Creek Walkway

The Chasm Creek walkway takes in a very scenic part of the old Ngakawau-Seddonville railway, just a few hundred metres west of Seddonville. The walkway itself is perhaps only 500m long, so we tacked it on to the end of a morning run from the Seddonville Holiday Park and through the streets of Seddonville. These photos show some of the highlights - the main river is the Mokihinui River, and this section is simply stunning.

Road and Rail Bridges

View of the road bridge from the old Chasm Creek rail bridge

Photographer Henry Winkelmann captured this 'mixed train' (featuring both freight and passenger carriages) crossing Chasm Creek bridge in 1903. The locomotive is an F class (possibly F 166). Source: Train crossing Chasm Creek bridge, 1903	Headed by Ww571, a freight train carrying timber and coal crosses Chasm Creek bridge in December 1968. Photographer: Graeme McClare, 1968 Source: Train on Chasm Creek bridge, 1968
Both photographs Ministry for Culture and Heritage, New Zealand History Online, updated 22-Feb-2009