warlust's experience @ The Gates of Hell

I bags this place in the apocalypse

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votes: 5

Abandon all hope, ye who enter hereEntrance to the underworld

The Gates of Hell is probably the coolest tunnel I’ve found in this country. We walked down a long dirt road through the reserve behind New Market alongside a concrete river like most tunnels murge into at some point until we got to the entrance of the tunnels. All along this path were manholes but they turned out to lead to sewers that ran alongside the stormwater drains and we promptly closed them, but from the breif look, these tunnels were like the ones on the Ninja Turtles and had walkways alongside the canal, the ladder leading down to them was covered in blue gunk which I didn’t dare touch. If you walk the other way the concrete river goes under a few bridges until it comes out in the sea. Auckland generally has larger tunnels than say Christchruch because it’s soo hilly and needs catch basins, etc. I named this place after it’s very impressive entrance, it has a big square concrete room under a roof and big concrete pillers in an uneven grid outside the tunnels, I guess these are used to catch trees, etc in storms. I’m about five foot four and can stand up very comfortably inside the tunnel. After walking in about twenty or so meters you come to a junction where another big tunnel joins on an angle, this one must run down from the top of the hill. There’s less than 10cm of water in the tunnel, but where it meets this tunnel there’s a waterfall that you have jump around, this waterfall looks really cool and would make for a nice photo. Although it’s awesome being inside it, the tunnel is mostly uneventful after this, although there’s a few small tunnels that come from manholes way above on the way, about two bends in the tunnel and it changes from smooth concrete to coarse concrete and back a few times, when you get to the end, the tunnel suddendly bends upwards into a big shaft and you can see the manhole it leads to which seems about a kilometer above, looking up at the sunlight is quite blinding by the time you reach this stage but it’s very cool being able to see the clouds from where you’re standing. Well worth a few trips.

  • Zuriel (5 months ago) 
    Im planning on venturing into this location, still a n00b urbex’er tho,
would any vets in auckland be interested in playing the guide?
    reply
  • Warlust (5 months ago) 
    Sure, I’d be keen to go again… it’s been awhile. Do you
know any other places up here?
    reply
  • Zuriel (5 months ago) 
    nah, i havent really done any urbex yet apart from some infiltration into a
dam
    

    only in aucks for the next 2 weeks, might be able to travel up from hams for
a day tho, are you free this weekend?
    reply
    • Rob (4 months ago) 
      a dam? like hydro dam sorta thing? where?! i’ve read a little about the
old
mclaren falls hydro station but so far everything i’ve found has been
pretty
light on details regarding whats still there.
      reply
  • Warlust (5 months ago) 
    next weekend I’ll be free bro, will you still be here?
    reply
  • Zuriel (4 months ago) 
    Im heading down to hams this week sorry, i’ll get in touch when im next
up here, will be busy for the first few weeks of uni so it’ll probly be
after late march
    

    was a hydroelectric dam, went through the place with my mate on christmas
day, not as much inside as you’d think, most of the photos were pretty
boring
    

    btw, i heard theres an abandoned limestone mine on an island near onerahi in
whangarei, im up there for a couple of days so i’ll try to grab some
pictures :)
    reply
    • Rob (4 months ago) 
      even if the photos aren’t of much you should still whack it up as a
location with a couple of shots up bro – it’d be the only hydro
station on here ;)
      reply
  • Orchidsuicide (4 months ago) 
    Im in this area all the time because of uni and I cant find it, whats the
name of the reserve do you know? Im keen to cheak it seeing I pass through this
area all the time =)
    reply
    • Rob (4 months ago) 
      pretty sure its called ‘newmarket reserve’ or something similar,
all i remember is that there was a fuckton of datura growing all over the show.
shouldn’t be too hard to find the reserve using the location map (
http://www.slackninja.com/maps/12 ). once you’re there just follow the lay
of the land, eventually you’ll reach the open stormdrain/stream, follow it
upstream and you’ll reach the drain entrance.
      reply
      • Orchidsuicide (4 months ago) 
        Haha thanks, You know more about my hood than I do =P Ha ha ! Datura. I
should pick it and sell it to amatures.
        reply
  • P0stal_b0b (about 1 month ago) 
    There’s a trail that leads down the hill straight to the entrance, it
starts in the little park at the end of James Cook Crescent, off Remuera Rd.
Seems to be the quickest way in & out.
    reply
  • Dirusion (about 1 month ago) 
    Rob and I went to check this out last year some stage but it was flooded to
fuck, also there were shit loads of morning glory plants good place to get
fucked up legally ;D
    reply