‘The Sneaky Cellars’ are located in Wellington, New Zealand. This makes up one section of the water overflow system for the city. The system was designed to allow rainfall to enter the natural river which runs, in certain places, beneath the city streets. New Zealand water overflows, though, are not combined sewer overflows, meaning that no sewage is transported to a treatment plant through such tunnels and passages. Many of the manmade sections are based on a trench-style method to prevent widespread flooding – this involves digging into the earth, reinforcing the base and sides with concrete, and sealing the system underneath a concrete roof or the floor boards of a building; many of which have foundations constructed out of wood and corrugated metal. Overflows of this design usually incorporate an existing river into the design, to utilise the natural water flow, allowing water to drain away from the central areas of the city. As the characteristics likely suggest, a number of these passageways pass through former cellars which continue to exist below existing basements.
It was a pleasant day, with a warm touch of sunshine; the type that lures you into a beer garden, and yet we decided to venture underground instead… Strange behaviour, quite characteristic of a strange group of people. Access involved a steady little traverse underneath a wooden public seating area that is positioned next to the river. The whole structure is based on a design that utilises stilts, making the climb particularly easy. Once at the bottom, we stumbled upon a small opening with a fixed metal grill positioned in front. Once past that minor obstacle, though, we were free to explore Wellington’s underworld. The system comprises of a number of open and closed sections, and much of it runs directly beneath various shops and businesses. You don’t have to listen too intently to hear the sound of footsteps thumping above. Interestingly, for those interested in the more natural details of the explore, eels dwell in the watery channels. These eels, though, are among the largest in the world, and are capable of growing up to 2 metres in length; the largest are estimated to have lived for over 60 years and can weigh up to 40kg. So, while there may not be alligators in the New York sewers, there are certainly some large beasts in New Zealand overflow pipes.
Explored with Urbex Central NZ; Nillskill and Zort.
1: A Few Metres Past the Main Entrance (Admittedly not the best photo in the world )
2: Underneath the First Section of Buildings
3: Building Foundations (A lot of effort to simply say you like Donna...)
4: Empty Rooms
5: The Wooden Section
6: The Lower Section
7: One of the Open Sections
8: More Foundations and Rooms
9: Main Pipe (Most of it looks like this)
It was a pleasant day, with a warm touch of sunshine; the type that lures you into a beer garden, and yet we decided to venture underground instead… Strange behaviour, quite characteristic of a strange group of people. Access involved a steady little traverse underneath a wooden public seating area that is positioned next to the river. The whole structure is based on a design that utilises stilts, making the climb particularly easy. Once at the bottom, we stumbled upon a small opening with a fixed metal grill positioned in front. Once past that minor obstacle, though, we were free to explore Wellington’s underworld. The system comprises of a number of open and closed sections, and much of it runs directly beneath various shops and businesses. You don’t have to listen too intently to hear the sound of footsteps thumping above. Interestingly, for those interested in the more natural details of the explore, eels dwell in the watery channels. These eels, though, are among the largest in the world, and are capable of growing up to 2 metres in length; the largest are estimated to have lived for over 60 years and can weigh up to 40kg. So, while there may not be alligators in the New York sewers, there are certainly some large beasts in New Zealand overflow pipes.
Explored with Urbex Central NZ; Nillskill and Zort.
1: A Few Metres Past the Main Entrance (Admittedly not the best photo in the world )
2: Underneath the First Section of Buildings
3: Building Foundations (A lot of effort to simply say you like Donna...)
4: Empty Rooms
5: The Wooden Section
6: The Lower Section
7: One of the Open Sections
8: More Foundations and Rooms
9: Main Pipe (Most of it looks like this)