Karangahake Gorge, Gorge in Hauraki District, New Zealand

Karangahake Gorge is a sharply winding canyon between the Coromandel and Kaimai ranges at the southern end of the Coromandel Peninsula, cut by the Ohinemuri River. State Highway 2 runs through it between Paeroa and Waihi. At the lower end, the Ohinemuri meets the Waitawheta River beside the remains of the Talisman, Crown and Woodstock stamping batteries, with forested hillsides above the water.

Gold mining at the Talisman, Crown and Woodstock batteries ran from the 1880s to the 1950s, peaking around 1900 when the area yielded 60 percent of New Zealand's gold. The East Coast Main Trunk Railway ran through the gorge until the Kaimai Deviation bypassed it; the line is now a walkway and cycleway.

Karanga-hake in Māori means "alarm call from the other side": scouts on the hills along the river struck a wooden gong to warn of raiders from the east. The Ohinemuri is "the water of the tears of Hinemuri", youngest daughter of chief Te One-ki-te-akau, whose tears were said to fill the river. Waikino means harmful, dangerous water, named for the river spirit said to live below the pool near the settlement.

Walks start at the Karangahake Reserve car park and picnic area, ranging from 30 minutes to over 2 hours. The walkway can also be joined near the Owharoa Falls and at Waikino station. The old railway tunnel on the walkway is lit for walkers; the two safe mining tunnels on the Windows Walk are about 2 m high and wide and end after roughly 50 m.

The Windows Walk follows the Talisman Mine tunnels and the Crown Tramway Track above the Waitawheta Gorge. The "windows" are openings at the end of mining tunnels, used to tip tailings into the gorge below. Two tunnels about 2 m high and wide are safe to enter; they end after roughly 50 m and hold glowworms and cave weta.