Aorere Goldfields 4x4 Track 2024

/ jades.adventures.2023
/ jadeadventure
In 1856, a gold rush was sparked in the Aorere Valley when a couple of settlers discovered a small amount of gold. More than two thousand men streamed into the ‘tent city’ of Gibbstown over the next few years and headed up the valley. Seven hotels were quickly built, and such was the expectation of fortune that the bay, previously known as Murderers’ Bay and Massacre Bay, was re-named Golden Bay. Gibbstown was to make way for a city called Collingwood, most of which was never built.
The Aorere Goldfields Track winds its way through the hillsides where miners worked and there are now remnants from the gold mining era.
The track first crosses a scrubby area called Druggans Flat and almost immediately passes a large pile of rocks, marked as a ground sluicing claim from the 1880s. From here, the path climbs steadily through manuka scrub. It’s easy walking, being mainly along parts of the original miner’s benched track, with water races (mostly dry) beside the track in some places. There is a marked side track which leads to Stanton’s Creek viewpoint: an area of native bush.
A little further on, another side track leads to Stafford’s Cave, the first of two caves. It has stalactites in the large, semi-open overhang above the entrance. It is possible to explore more of the cave with the right gear. A DOC sign explains the caves were formed more than 500,000 years ago and warns against damaging or removing any of the formations.

[@gold-diggersanonymous1085]

this track is surely not do-able with a normal car, right?

[@JadesAdventures22]

yer no 4x4 this track