Kakahi is a small village about 10 kilometres up the Whanganui River from Taumarunui in New Zealand. It can be accessed from State Highway 4 using access roads Waitea Road or Whakapapa Road.
Kakahi derives its name from the Kakahi fresh water shellfish which may be found in the area.
The North Island Main Trunk Railway passes through Kakahi over the Kakahi Stream via a large concrete pillar and steel girder bridge.
Te Rena Road in Kakahi is notable for extensive colonies of glowworms which live all along the sheer banks where the road cuts deeply through the hill side for about 500 metres.
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The local sports teams are generally dressed in blue and gold. There is a local sports area (called "The Domain") to the north of the village overlooking the Whanganui River. It was here that the Kakahi field hockey team was based. And here also during the 1970s was a regular motocross and the Kakahi rodeo Club competitions. These were run to raise funds for community activities. Around the perimeter of the hockey field are the remains of a racing bicycle track, except a portion of the track was washed away during the 1950s flood.
Last century Kakahi was a King Country sawmill town, with four timber mills around the township, many tram lines for moving the timber (mainly totara). Kakahi also had three churches, one hotel (burned to the ground), one boarding house and a pool hall. It still has the active Kakahi Primary School (Photos), the Kakahi General Store (also a post office), and the Kakahi Hall (which has been restored to full function by the community).
In 1906 Ngati Tuwharetoa and the Tongariro Timber Company struck an argreement for the construction of a 40-mile (64 km) railway line from Kakahi (on the main trunk line) to Pūkawa on the shores of Lake Taupo. This was in exchange for the milling rights of 134,500 acres (544 km2) of land, and other considerations.[1] Subsequently in 1908 a case was put to the Stout Ngata commission over the lack of action. By May 1929 this line had still not been built and the government acquired the Tongariro Timber Company. A road was deemed at being more viable. The Tongariro Timber Company railway land was finally disposed by the Parliament of New Zealand in as in the Maori Purposes Act November 24, 1967.[2]
The hall was originally commissioned by one of the local timber milling businesses and was used as a silent movies cinema and dance hall. As such it still retains its piano, fireproof Celluloid film projection room and even has copper tubing in the ceiling for the "white spirit" internal lighting system.
Other commercial buildings that remain in Kakahi that are no longer in their original use are the butcher, baker (complete with retired bread oven), original post-office and a Blacksmith's stables.
The Kakahi bakers here were known for trucking their hot bread widely in the region, and even supplied many of the Bush Mills in the hills as far away as National Park. Interestingly the expression "The best thing since sliced bread" belies that fact that many small bakers could not afford the expensive patented (and sometimes unreliable) bread slicers. This was a contributing factor in the closing of bakers here.
A marae(photos) of the Ngati Manunui hapu of Tuwharetoa is located in the town. A Catholic church, complete with its bell tower, stands on the edge of the marae.
Kakahi is also noted for trout fly fishing (in-particular the "Kakahi Queen" fly) and for a once resident Peter McIntyre (Official wartime artist for the New Zealand military) who published a book of paintings titled "Kakahi".
The Whanganui River and Whakapapa River meet about five kilometres to the east of Kakahi, about 1 km from the end of the Te Rena Road (an old logging tram line).