Access

Turn into Lindemann Road 2km north of Katikati and follow it uphill 4km to a carpark, lookout and toilet at the roadend.

The track starts through the gate and is signposted on the left.

Track

The easiest route is to attempt an anti-clockwise loop. Take the right fork, where the track is wide, formed and marked with orange rectangles. It climbs steadily for 2 hours to the junction with the Wairoa Pack Track.

Fork left along the narrow, uneven track for 45 minutes to the junction with the Lindemann Ridge Track. A 5-minute-return detour leads to the remains of a kauri dam and is signposted to the south.

Return along the Lindemann Ridge track for 1¼ hours, passing the timber of an old kauri dam. This track is marked with orange triangles and can be steep and muddy in places.

Geology

Tauranga Harbour is a drowned river valley, it’s many tentacles being the former valleys between ridges. The rising sea levels at the waning of the last Ice Age caused the present coastline to take shape. Matakana Island has since been built up from moving sands.

European History

The most southerly kauri sawmill in New Zealand was constructed in the nearby Wharawhara Valley in 1902 by the Bond Brothers. Milling was later continued by the Cashmore Brothers.

A 3km-long bush tramway operated with a log chute higher up the watershed until 1909, when all available timber had been cut. Driving dams were also used to hold stocks of water. During times of flood, the dams were ‘tripped’ and the torrent of water would capture the logs in the stream bed.