Nearby Taupo on State Highway 2 is a poignant reminder of the 19th century NZ Land Wars with its graves of Bay of Plenty Calvary. The superb Maori strategist Te Kooti led a successful surprise attack in defence of his rights. The cemetery is also the resting place of Opepe village residents and the members of the Armed Constabulary. It is a walk through history.
On the Southern route you pass a ghost town, once the home of over 125 residents. The regenerating forest is wrapped around totara fencing, bullock watering trough and a water well is still visible. During your walk your footsteps cross the original Napier Taupo road. Once the quiet forest was a clearing with a hotel, store and houses, now disappeared and the bush is taking over.
