Bridge to Nowhere

The very name of this bridge arouses interest and a desire to see what kind of structure it is, which is located in a dense forest and which leads nowhere.

Bridge to nowhere is located deep in the Wanganui National Park. The imposing, large, stone and high bridge looks a little out of place there. There is no normal road on either side. The nearest settlement is several kilometers away. Indeed, this is a bridge to nowhere.

In fact, this bridge has an unusual history.
Remote from other parts of the city, the Mangapurua Valley was opened in 1919. There, residents began to build housing and cultivate agriculture to provide food and life for soldiers returning from the First World War. To make it easier to get to this valley, they built a rather shaky wooden bridge. This bridge was worn out after 20 years. A new reliable concrete beauty, which could be driven even by car, was built in its place in 1936.

But here's the problem: by this time almost all the inhabitants of the valley had moved to the city for a better life, the fields were abandoned, the houses were empty. Six years later, there was not a single person left in Mangapurua.

In just 10 years, the forest has swallowed up a once residential area. Now there is nothing to remind us that there were people in Mangapurua. Nature has taken back what man once borrowed from it.

But the beautiful bridge remained. And it became a popular attraction for tourists.

From its height, you can enjoy a magnificent view of the steep flat valley and the riverbed. It is safe and pleasant to walk on it. And since the road to the bridge is quite long (the excursion walking route takes about 40 minutes), then it is a wonderful reward for your efforts to make a picnic stop on the other side of the river, surrounded by wild woods and the sound of water.