Our local communities Funds

Enable the youth of Huntly and north Waikato to have great outdoor education experiences and help develop Lake Kimihia as a venue for them to happen!

The Huntly Karioi Outdoor Trust has been providing outdoor education opportunities for the young people of North Waikato since the 1980s, originally through their management of a school camp near Raglan.

These days their funding support enables youth to participate in programs like those run by the Perry Outdoor Education Trust and the Graeme Dingle Foundation.

The Trust is also backing the development of recreational and training facilities at Lake Kimihia near Huntly. The ‘new’ lake has been created through rainwater gradually filling the huge pit of the former Huntly East coal mine, eventually topping out at 1.2km-long, 500m-wide and 59m-deep.

Neighbours Murray and Jennifer Allen bought the site in 2018 with the goal of turning it into the Raahui Pookeka version of Lake Karapiro or Hamilton‘s Lake Rotoroa. Their plans include a multi-purpose recreational and community complex, providing a bespoke education and events venue for non-motorised water sports immediately accessible from Hamilton and Auckland.

Rehabilitation of the site's environment and ecology is well underway, with waterbirds already gathering, such as the previously endangered New Zealand Dabchiks, who like the lake’s clear water to deep dive for the abundant fish.

Are you, or your business or organisation, keen to enable outdoor recreation opportunities for the youth of North Waikato?

If you are, please donate to the Karioi Projects Fund here.