Bridge to Nowhere, Manawatu-Wanganui

Bridge to Nowhere, Manawatu-Wanganui DawnC (Atlas Obscura User)

Deep in the forest of Whanganui National Park is the “valley of abandoned dreams,” and a lone concrete bridge.

Though only accessible by boat up the Whanganui River, the first pioneers in the area believed that eventually, a road would link to the valley. They constructed the bridge in anticipation, but the road was never developed.

Left isolated, they faced a lonely wilderness too difficult to tame. Today, the area is abandoned but the Bridge to Nowhere still stands as a symbol of the ill-fated settlement.

Know Before You Go

There are two ways to visit the bridge. This is done by either boat transport up the Whanganui River to the Mangapurua Landing, from which the bridge is a 40-minute walk, or by the Mangapurua Track, an advanced mountain bike/walking track accessible from either the Whakahoro or Ruatiti road end.

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