Blue Springs, Waihou River Walk

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The Blue Springs walk is an easy 4.7km (one way) walk along the Waihou River to the Blue Springs that will take you around 3 hours there and back. The water is so pure it’s bottled and sold. Enjoy seeing trout swimming in the crystal clear water as you follow the track alongside the river to the Blue Springs. If you want a very short walk then park the car in the car park down Leslie Road.

Quick Facts

• • • • Location: North Island NZ
      • Distance: 4.70 kms
      • Time needed: 3 Hours
      • Difficulty: Very Easy
      • Wheelchair Access: No
      • Route: Double back
      • Elevation: 144m
      • Wet Feet: No
      • Toilets: Yes
      • Dogs: No
      • Mobile Coverage: No
      • Last Updated: November, 2019

Points of interest along the walk

In the map above, if you zoom in on the walk, you’ll see all the following track points and their location. Each point has photos along with a description about each one.

Point 1: The Start of the Blue Springs, Waihou River Walk

The track is so easy to find from the car park. Follow the gravel track up to the first bridge. 15 minutes into the walk you will pass the Bio toilet, yes it is the only one on the walk. The track is very easy to follow. At the bridge you can take the high road or the low road. We crossed over the bridge on the way up to the Blue Springs and came back on the low road.

Point 2: Blue Springs, Finish

The last section of the walk is through a gorge, so they say, I would call it a gully. This gully was a bit on the rough side when we did this walk. I hope the track has been worked on since then. You will get the chance to look down in to the Waihou River and see trout darting in and out of the weed. At the Blue Spring there is a pump shed, this is where spring water is pumped into Putaruru town where the spring water is bottled and sold to a number of bottled water companies in NZ. From the pump shed you can walk up the hill and onto the track leading to Leslie Road, this will save you 20 minutes, so long as some one picks you up at the road end.

All walks in Putaruru…

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