Gabriels Gully interpretation walk: Walking Guide, Time & Access

Route overview

Explore Gabriels Gully and the stories of goldfield occupants with a series of interpretation panels as your guide, and picnic at Greys Dam.

This DOC directory entry covers Gabriels Gully interpretation walk in Otago, within Gabriels Gully Historic Reserve. Where DOC groups several walks, times and grades refer to the listed options rather than a single continuous itinerary.

Distance, time and grade

• Distance: 2.8 km loop
• Walking time: 1 hr 30 min loop
• DOC grade: Easy

Access and alerts

Source checked 2026-10-08. This page is a dated snapshot, not a live track-status report. Check current DOC route information immediately before travelling. An absence of listed alerts does not establish that a route is open.

• Foreshore of Greys Dam Amenity area closed; First published on 5 March 2026. Last reviewed on 6 October 2026.

Dog access

Dogs on a leash only. Other pets on conservation land rules.

Description

From the carpark follow the track up the hill to traverse a fault scarp (an exposed fault line unearthed by mining in the gully) and follow several water races uphill. You will pass the site of a raceman's cottage, Pollands Dam and a rusty sluice pipe.

Water was piped in from as far afield as Waipori and stored in the many dams in the area to rush through the water races and sluice pipes operated by the racemen to blast the rock faces for gold.

The track then descends the face providing views across the gully, to the elevator pond and beyond to the tent sites of hundreds of miners during the rush and later of the mine office.

You will then enter the regenerated manuka forest and wander amongst remnant stacks of conglomerate (gold bearing) rock before crossing an open paddock to an intersection.

From here you can turn right to visit the remains of the North of Ireland stamper battery or turn left to visit another dam and walk through the forest to the Great Extended Mine shaft.

After seeing the mine shaft wander back to the carpark through a gully and past the mines rusty safe which still remains on site. The gully has visible remains of claim intersection stacks, the piles of conglomerate each miner left to ensure they did not upset their neighbour.

Greys Dam picnic area

Drive or ride past the turn off to Gabriels Gully carpark to reach Greys Dam. The still water of the dam reflects the vibrant colour of the surrounding vegetation, providing a great backdrop for picnics on one of the picnic tables or games of backyard cricket in the picnic area.

This calm seemingly gentle dam once provided hydraulic pressure to shift entire hillsides.

Otago Dam Track begins at Grays Dam.

Getting there

Start from the Gabriels Gully carpark. Gabriels Gully is 3 km from the township of Lawrence, 92 km south-west of Dunedin on SH8.

Know before you go

No toilets

There are no toilets on site. The closest public toilets are in the Lawrence township.

Large trees

There are large trees within Gabriels Gully Historic Reserve and at the start of the track within the Greys Dam Amenity Area. Do not park under them and avoid them during high winds.

Former mining area

Beware of unmarked shafts and abandoned gold mining workings. Keep to the formed tracks.

Sources and reuse

Route descriptions and practical information reproduced from the Department of Conservation, Crown copyright, under CC BY 4.0, subject to DOC's copyright policy. Formatting has been adapted, including flattening page sections; follow the original DOC page for maps, section-specific layout, current notices and linked documents. Outdoor Next is independent and is not endorsed by DOC.

The accompanying photograph is a licensed general hiking illustration, not a photograph of this route.