Opepe Graves and Reserve

In June 1869 a detachment of volunteer cavalry camped in the bush beside the military road built to link Taupo and Napier in 1865 were surprised by the Maori fighting chief, Te Kooti. The graves of the nine soldiers killed are in the small roadside reserve on the northern side of State Highway 5. Later residents of Opepe Township and the Armed Constabulary were also buried there.
A bush loop track takes you through mature podocarp (rimu, matai, miro) forest - unusual in this region as so much was destroyed by the Taupo eruption of 186AD and later by fires and the woodman's axe. An armed constabulary redoubt was built nearby, one of seven between Napier and Taupo. Its remains can be seen from a loop track on the southern side of the road. A full trip around the loop will take an hour and a half. There are interpretation panels and signs for guidance.