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All New Zealand Manawatu-Wanganui Bridge to Nowhere, Manawatu-Wanganui
AO Edited

Bridge to Nowhere, Manawatu-Wanganui

This bridge was designed to connect a road that never came to fruition.

Manawatu-Wanganui, New Zealand

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Dawn
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Bridge to Nowhere, Manawatu-Wanganui   DawnC / Atlas Obscura User
Bridge to Nowhere, Manawatu-Wanganui   DawnC / Atlas Obscura User
Bridge to Nowhere, Manawatu-Wanganui   DawnC / Atlas Obscura User
Bridge to Nowhere, Manawatu-Wanganui   DawnC / Atlas Obscura User
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About

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.

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Architecture History & Culture Bridges

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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DawnC

Published

January 25, 2022

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Bridge to Nowhere, Manawatu-Wanganui
Manawatu-Wanganui, 4392
New Zealand
-39.27104, 174.972374

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