Pupu Hydro Walkway Trailhead

Absolutely stunning and beautiful! This would have to be up there as one of my favourite tracks. It's 5.7km including the 320m to the lookout on the way down.Tautoko (confirm/echo) what others say - go up the left, zigzag track first which is about 1km up. After heavy rain it will be wet, the terrain is a mix of clay and rocks. It was reasonably wet when I went, which was 4 days after rain.Then you follow a water race in a flat and well maintained track for about 1.5km. This is very cool. Some bridge parts are very narrow (see photos). Lots of picnic tables to stop and eat. Then an upward and downward gravel track.I ran most of this 5.6km trail, it took 46 mins (I don't consider myself a fast runner, usually 6-6.5min kms on the flat, however I do have a preference for hill running).

Excellent walk. Highly enjoyed as you walk along side this man made water path. Nice scenery, first part of the walk starting to the left is walking on a road path. Second part is really nice with the man made water walkway. Then the last part is not at well maintained. The history is pretty interesting reading about the Pupu Hydro power. Highly recommended. Took a couple of hours but well worth it.

Rain rain go away... came here twice, both times raining, but quite expected of New Zealand. Dec 19 rain was so heavy that a major flood happened.. First time it was raining so heavily we cancelled our plans to hike. Then second time we were here, it was drizzling so we decided to proceed to go for the walk. Sadly, the heavy rain over the past days have caused so much drainage that the blue waters turned brownish.

Nice walk if you are in the area. Paths (and picnic tables) are not that well maintained. Especially going up via 'zigzag' route is pretty though. But the part along the waterway is worth it: very nice and spectacular!! Good for fun and pics. The way down via Jim's route is easy but not special. You could consider taking this easier route up and the zigzag down. The information in the beginning of the trail is nice. The whole circle can be done in 2,5hr (with stops).

The zig zag path is worn down a bit, but it's way more interesting than the other path up, which is basically a 4x4 road. The aquifer along the top was very cool! But it is narrow in parts so I wouldn't recommend taking small children. Also, the road there was gravel for about 5km

Sensational place for a short walk. Interesting to see the water races but the bush and views are great. Also a good place for a run. Just sayin.

Love this stuff, how good is it to reuse and create both income for the community as well as green energy!

Absolutely gorgeous little walk. I'm all about low effort-high reward when it comes to walks and the Pupu hydro walkway delivers exactly that. Very easy but still very rewarding.

Loved this walk, the bush walk is the best walk up to the Weir and Intake. The waterway is right beside you, an awesome feat of engineering. Met up with Paul at the Power Station, who spent a good deal of his time telling us all about the history, energy output and machinery side of the operation. Outstanding! Thank you.

Fabulous walk. Unique and interesting. The water race walkway part is amazing. This is a loop trail. Only one person wide in parts so prepare to get cosy! If you bear to the left on the loop at the start of the track the path is well maintained. Steep but anyone of average fitness can do it. The path to the right - or the downhill section if you turned left to start the loop- is a bit gnarly so you need good knees! (DoC need to get busy and maintain their section better.) I've done this walk twice now, well worth it. Visit Pupu Springs then head for the Hydro!