Discover Beggs Pool
Immediately downstream from Waikato Falls, Beggs Pool is a significant pool on the Tongariro River in the Kaimanawa Forest Park. The pool is surrounded by mountain beech and ferns, and the clear water is known for rainbow trout.
The pool is popular for fishing, but since the 1980s, it has also been a key location on the Tongariro Power Scheme. A dam bisected the pool to divert water into the Poutu intake. The access road crosses the dam, with a parking area located on the east side of the pool. From there, you can investigate the dam and walk south to the Rangipō Tailrace Tunnel exit, which brings water into the pool. On the opposite side of the pool, you can see the lower part of the Waikato Falls.
Keep an eye out for the memorial plaque for Mark Davies and Jim Pataki, who both died working on the Rangipō Tailrace Tunnel.
Tongariro Power Scheme
Tongariro Power Scheme is a large-scale hydroelectric system constructed between 1964 and 1983, diverting water from multiple rivers, including tributaries of the Tongariro, through tunnels, canals, and dams to generate electricity at Tokaanu, Rangipō, and Mangaio before discharging into Lake Taupō.
After passing through Rangipō Power Station upstream of Beggs Pool, water from the Tongariro River flows through the 3 km Rangipō Tailrace Tunnel back to the river at Beggs Pool. From the pool, the Poutu intake then takes water through the Poutu Tunnel and Canal toward the Poutu Dam and then into Lake Rotoaira. From this lake, the water is funnelled through the Tokanuu Tunnel to the Tokannu Power Station, above State Highway 46.
Getting There
Access is via Kaimanawa Road, about 8 km from the Desert Road (State Highway 1). The road passes both Waikoko and Kaimanawa Road Campsites before reaching the pool.
Nearby places include Kaimanawa Road Campsite, the Waikoko Campsite, the Pillars of Hercules to Urchin Campsite Track and the Tree Trunk Gorge Track. For a more substantial tramping experience, you can also access the Umukarikari Track and Mt Urchin Trig Track, which take you deeper into the mountains in Kaimanawa Forest Park.
