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The Mysterious Kaimanawa Wall: Man-made megalithic structure or work of nature?
The Kaimanawa Wall is a large stone structure in the Kaimanawa Forest near Lake Taupo, New Zealand. At first glance, the wall looks like it has been constructed from rectangular stone blocks judging by the clearly visible horizontal and vertical lines. But was it actually made by humans or did it form through nature?
When my father told me he and Mum were intending to make a trip to Taupo to climb Mount Tauhara, I was eager to join them and take a small detour to see the wall with my own eyes. Dad had mentioned the wall in the past and even visited it once before. Having a keen interest in ancient history and in particular, stone ruins, I was curious to investigate the mysterious structure.
If it were man-made, that would lead to a lot of exciting questions:
How old was it? Who made it? Maori? Pre-Maori people? Why was it built? Why here?
Journey to the wall
December 2004. It was the Christmas holidays. Dad, Mum and I drove from Wellington to stay a couple of nights in the town of Taupo.
The next day we climbed Mount Tauhara and the day after we finally went to visit the wall.
South east of Lake Taupo lies the Kaimanawa Forest. We drove about 12 km down the bumpy and narrow Clements Mill Road. Unmarked and on the left, sat the lonely wall.
Seeing it first-hand, the lines joining the blocks are remarkably straight, both vertically and horizontally. The wall is partially covered with moss and on top of it lies a few feet of soil and a large tree.
