Join Dr Kate Pedley on a guided tour and discover the unique history of the Waipara Gorge.

Very few places in the world have fossils carbon dated sixty million years old as in the Waipara Gorge. A 60-minute guided tour downstream on the flat land to the junction of the north/south branches of the Waipara river, is where these magnificent concretions are. Dr Kate Pedley will talk about how these ancient concretions are formed and share insights about fossils and geological history of the area.

“Take nothing, leave only footprints.”

Good walking shoes essential. Uneven terrain.

The Waipara River contains a number of historically and scientifically important sites, particularly in the upper reaches of the river where the sedimentary rocks contain significant information about the history of New Zealand. It is also where the first fossil bones to be discovered in New Zealand were found in 1859.The presence of limestone indicates that the land once formed part of the seabed, as limestone is a calcareous rock formed when marine shellfish and other animals of calcite structure die. The limestone is rich in fossilised shells and skeletal debris from the plants and animals that lived in the ancient ocean. These include marine invertebrates such as molluscs, brachiopods, bryozoans, and many others.

Karetu Bridge to White Gorge

Karetu Bridge crosses the Waipara River South Branch between Ram Paddock Road and MacDonald Downs Road approximately eight hundred metres upstream from the confluence with the Waipara River North Branch. A short distance downstream of the confluence is Ohuriawa Gorge, a geologically distinctive feature of the Waipara River. The Gorge is considered to have high natural character due to the combination of active geological processes that have created the Gorge, the active regeneration of shrubland on the valley sides, and the invisibility from river level of any structures or other obvious signs of human activity.

Ohuriawa Gorge is accessible only via the riverbed. This part of the river is subject to AMF rights and as such there is no public access to the river unless by prior arrangement and approval with the relevant landowners.