Ohakuri Hydro Power Station

The 12 square km lake upstream of the Ohakuri power station is a popular camping spot. This stretch of the Waikato river is also said to provide excellent trout fishing.

The impressive power station building was designed by A C Vallenduuk who was architect with the Power Division of the Ministry of Works. It took four years to complete the project, finishing in 1961. Sadly, the collateral damage in the creation of this plant was that the new lake drowned most of the Orakei Korako geothermal area as well as hot springs and wahi tapu (Maori sacred sites)not least of which were two of the world’s largest geysers.

Current owners, Mighty River Power, undertook an expensive turbine makeover in 2011 and the plant roars on. See the Waikato Hydro tag for an overview of the stations with views of their monumental architecture.

Architect Allan Morse considers this his favourite modernist building.