Mangaroa Valley Road

The picturesque Mangaroa Valley is a rural settlement to the east of Upper Hutt. Lifestyle blocks and farms make up its landscape, with the mountainous Pākuratahi Forest serving as a backdrop.

In the 1900s, logging efforts cleared the valley floor, which has since been used for sheep and dairy farming. Some parts of the valley have been restored to peatland.

Opening in 1877, the historic Mangaroa Tunnel formed part of the old railway route connecting Upper Hutt and Featherston.

In the 1950s, the valley served as a base for the railroad section gang working on the new Remutaka Tunnel. Some dwellings from that time still exist near the northern end of the valley.

Although the old route closed in 1955, the Mangaroa Tunnel remains an interesting feature of the Remutaka Cycle Trail.

Translated from Māori, the name Mangaroa means “long stream” in English, likely referring to the Mangaroa River. This river flows north from the hills and joins the Hutt River just north of Upper Hutt. The small river is a good fishing spot for the introduced brown trout species.