One of the stops on the 4 day trip is the popular tramping track up to this concrete bridge. Probably the most ornate concrete bridge I’ve seen I guess, but the main oddity being that it’s just sitting there in the jungle. No towns or farms around. Not roads leading to it. But mainly it was nice to get out and use the legs for a bit rather than the arms! I reckon I’ll be doing chin-ups no problem after all this ;)
Little 40min side trip up to the ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ today. Quite an impressive concrete bridge spanning a steep gorge in (as the name suggests) the middle of nowhere. Apparently the WW1 veterans that settled here abandoned their land soon after building the bridge due to land slips on the steep terrain and bad flooding. Considered a folly for many years, it’s now paying for itself many times over by becoming one of the areas main attractions, pulling in hordes of tourists jet-boated up the river.
Pleased to see our first Te Araroa signage in many weeks, finally back on the official route!
Nicky and Cookie,
Awesome adventures so far! I have been following along from the start! Thanks so much for taking so many beautiful pictures. Its been great following along. (Brings me back to when I followed Cookie on the CDT).
This post reminded me of a hike I took in Southern California’s San Gabriel Mountains a few years back. There also is a “Bridge to Nowhere” out here. Not nearly in such a beautiful setting as yours, but it’s crazy how similar the bridges look!
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Mwk71n67RbU/TKwB_oncwKI/AAAAAAAAAAY/dlaeY2airPk/s1600/bridge2nowhere2.jpg