Karanagahake roughly means 'meeting of the hunchbacks' - where the
Kaimaimamakus and Coromanel ranges meet.
Access
Traveling from Auckland to Waihi, as you enter the gorge you will
notice a walking bridge that passes over the road and leads to a tunnel.
At this point turn right onto the vehicular bridge that crosses the river
and leads to a car park.
From the car park follow the track that leads up stream, after about 5
minutes you should cross the swing bridge before continuing on to the entrance
of Waitawheta Gorge. Follow the old pipeline track for a few minutes and
you will see the main climbing area - from left to right - Prelude
buttress ( the long arete and buttress ); The Shield; China wall ( the
huge wall behind the Shield - awesome climbing ); Red wall and the Skyline
buttress. On your right as you approach another swing bridge is the
Pipeline wall. There's a few other smaller crags around (Khan buttress,
Back of beyond...) but they only have a few climbs each and are dirty.
To access Black Wall continue up stream from Waitawheta Gorge for
another 5 minutes and move through the bush to reach its base.
The alternative is to take the walking track that leads to the bridge and the tunnel,
after you exit the tunnel take the track that leads right and
follows the river. About 5 minutes after the tunnel you will see the
Black Wall.
Climbs
Details of the area can be found in Auckland
Climbs which has about 30 pages dedicated to K Gorge.
