Category: Urbex
Know Your Biorhythms
The Power of Being Thankful
The Millerton Incline
This small settlement and area of mining is located in Millerton on the West Coast of New Zealand.
Once a bustling town of 700, there now remains around 30 people who still call this place home. The area is littered with abandoned tunnels and mining carts and was a real ‘gold mine’ of interest for the urbexcentral gang.
LITTLE KNOWN FACT: The Millerton football (soccer) club, known as the Millerton All Blacks, were twice runners-up in the Chatham Cup, New Zealand’s knockout football competition, in 1932 and 1933.
Photography and Surrealism
We found this broken time capsule of creativity temporarily parked on the edge of a highway awaiting its inevitable and imminent collapse. A book on surrealist photography set the tone for the video edit.
The Abandoned Masonic Lodge
Located in Brooklyn, Wellington this Freemason’s lodge was the largest lodge in the Wellington region.
The secretive Freemason’s had left a lot of treasures to be found when they abandoned the lodge, we looked through numerous documents such as a detailed explanation of the initiation ceremony members must go through to become a lodge member. We felt a certain eeriness to the place as we explored and photographed the lodge but also felt a little sad for the members of the lodge and what the future of the Freemasons may be.
We hope you enjoy the pictures and video.
Check out https://urbexcentral.com/category/freemasonry/
So Mote It Be
Among the many artefacts left behind at the closure of this masonic centre, one of the more interesting was a typed script for a masonic ceremony. Attempting to decode the script with its mysterious redactions and abbreviations was a fun challenge. It appears that a candidate for a degree of freemasonry is given the role of Third Sojourner in a play acted out over the chessboard-tiled floor. Three sojourners have recently come out of captivity in Babylon, and offer their masonry skills acquired during forced labour to the Sanhedrin – an assembly of Jewish rabbis – to assist with building the second temple of Solomon. After convincing the Sanhedrin of their genuine intentions, they are employed and dispatched to the site of the build. They are given rudimentary tools – a pickaxe, shovel and crowbar, safety ropes and explicit instructions to keep secret any artefacts they uncover from Solomon’s first temple, which according to Jewish tradition was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar II in 587 BCE. Unsurprisingly, they do make a string of discoveries in a plot as preordained as an episode of CSI: a pickaxe loosens up the earth and reveals a hollow sound beneath; a shovel clears away the earth to uncover the crown of a stone arch; its central keystone has a ring attached; a crowbar happens to perfectly fit that ring and allows the keystone to be lifted to reveal an engraving on it signposting a path to hidden treasure; lots are drawn to determine which sojourner descends into the dark cavity with the rope “cable tow” around his waist in case he meets danger and needs to be hauled up by his companions; the air he finds below is indeed poisonous and the dark is pervasive, so they wait for the illumination of the rising sun and the dissipation of the foul air; the second sojourner descends and retrieves a scroll (which according to another online source is the last remaining copy of a book of holy law hidden during Nebuchadnezzar’s siege of Jerusalem); the three sojourners bind themselves to secrecy, and led by the third sojourner they make one final descent as the sun reaches its high meridian; they find a beautiful subterranean chamber and another arch made of marble, banners bearing names, and other peculiar “signs”.
As the three sojourners close up the vault, obscure its point of entry, and resolve to return the scroll, a hand drawing of the underground chamber and word of their other discoveries to the Sanhedrin, they demonstrate values and practices considered worthy of a freemason. In many respects these values and practices are not dissimilar to the ways of urban explorers. We understand the thrill of discoveries made while fossicking through the forgotten, dark cavities of the modern city. We too make sure the whole crew gets out safe. Like freemasons we swear each other to secrecy, albeit somewhat less formally. And we can also exhibit a similar tribalism founded on knowledge mindfully shared and withheld.
Abandoned Teaching College
Located in Wellington, New Zealand this former teachers college was built in stages between 1966 and 1977 by architects Toomath and Wilson. Teaching here focused on social good and personal development and was what the architecture was meant to represent. Victoria University originally bought the campus for $10 and then on sold it to Ryman Health for 26 million dollars last year. (more…)
Abandoned West Coast Cranes
Along the wharf of this small West Coast town sit these old electric coaling cranes. They are in a terrible state of disrepair and reported that if left any longer would begin to pancake on themselves.
Built in the 1900’s and used up until the 1970’s these cranes had been defunct for the past 50 years and without any restoration or maintenance had fallen victim to the weather of this West Coast town. There are plans to move the cranes and restore them but it uncertain if financially feasible. While taking photos of these cranes I spoke to a local who seemed really upset the cranes were being removed and thought it was a total waste of heritage.
Abandoned South Island tunnel
After hearing a rumor about a mysterious train tunnel in the South Island of New Zealand myself and DerelictNZ went out to investigate.
Sadly our first attempt was a bit of a fail after spending a whole afternoon trying to find it but after some more research urbexcentral returned and this time success!
The tunnel was fully bored and constructed in the early 1940’s however it was given up on after some of the walls started breaching. The damage inside the tunnel is pretty substantial and it felt pretty unsafe to lurk through, from the crazy angles and curvature in the tunnel I suspect the kaikoura earthquake in 2016 played a part in the damage.
Above The Glass
A couple of old chimneys tower over an abandoned glass factory near the village of Krushevo, in the municipality of Sevlievo, in Gabrovo Province, northern central Bulgaria. Gunner thanks his generous and kind hosts, Nicola Miller and Jonathan Taylor.
Abandoned Aquarium
Located in a sleepy town that has had its fair share of earthquakes lies this little aquarium on the wharf, abandoned and closed down due to earthquake damage. In operation, it seems the aquarium was well loved and although small was full of interactive activities for children who visited.
Due to an injury this explore posed a little bit of a challenge to UC but thanks to fellow explorer DerelictNZ we were able to successfully explore this place and enjoy its wonder; such as an inflatable shark, not quite the infamous Melbourne shark but close enough.
The Abandoned bowling alley
Located between Tokyo and Mount Fuji, we eventually found this bowling alley ‘Yukio jamaji’ on google maps. Walking around the bowling alley felt a bit like a time capsule – seemingly locked in time, closed down and untouched for the last 10 years.
With mixed information regarding the security in place at this location we went in cautiously but were pleasantly surprised by the gloomy abandonment we found.
The Empire Hotel
A little bit of luck goes a long way in the world of urban exploring and we happened to stumble upon this hotel in Masterton in the North Island of New Zealand just before it began being demolished and destroyed forever.
This old hotel had an amazing art deco staircase and some other interesting features including housing a recording studio. There were signs of squatters in some of the rooms which was also reported in local news papers.
Due to redevelopment of ‘a new chain store coming to town’ the hotel has now come to the end of its life and will be demolished.
Waterpark
Late last year we explored the abandoned waterpark “Ho Thuy Tien” near Hue, Vietnam. This place has been fairly well documented by UE and backpackers before, so to mix things up a bit we decided to predominately explore the park via bicycle- and we’re talking about the old school one speed bicycle variety with a basket on the handle bars.
It took 30-40 minutes in the heat & humidity to bike there from Hue city, courtesy of Google Maps. At the main gate we were surprisingly waved through by a guard. We were expecting a “fee” like all other locals and visitors alike. Perhaps he felt because we’d biked all the way out there we deserved the “free” entry- what ever the case it was good karma. Locals we spoke to later just could not believe we’d been given “free” entry.
Closed a decade ago- probably because of the high priced tickets and lack of attractions- the park has over the years become a hang out for local youth, urban explorers, backpackers, and on weekends (in this case) a bus load of students. Apart from getting the neck slit gesture after outstaying our welcome at some local lads bbq on top of the waterslide section- it was a safe and surreal experience- and then we had to bike all the way back to town…
The Abandoned Supreme Court House, West Coast, New Zealand.
This abandoned courthouse was built in 1913. It was designed to reflect New Zealand’s ties to the British Empire. The building was only used until 1970 as a courthouse and was continued to be used for government buildings till the 1990’s.
Since then it was laid unoccupied and fallen into disrepair although meant to be restored, it is far from that. Hope you enjoy the pictures, it was a solid explore and one of urbex centrals’ most desired locations along the West Coast of New Zealand.
Abandoned Lower North Island Hospital
This hospital is one of the most intact abandoned hospitals left in New Zealand. Closed in 2007 and subsequently purchased privately, this hospital has been left abandoned and untouched.
Inside the hospital it’s quite amazing how much is left, from X-ray machines to a fully functioning theater its as if the hospital could open again at any minute although left abandoned 10 years ago.
We first visited this hospital in 2012 and now once again in 2017, not much has changed but it remains one of Urbex Central’s favourite explores in the North Island of New Zealand.
Tonghui Town – Abandoned Swiss town in Beijing.
Tongui town – This abandoned street was built in 2011 as a ‘bar street’ development.
Six years later and the place is a ghost town, abandoned in central Beijing, there was a mixture of themes used in this European style town including Italian and Swiss. It is unknown whether this site will ever be used as its intended purpose and what a strange sight to see in Central Beijing.
As you can see none of the internal parts of the building were completed and they were all joined together through a tunnel underneath the street, we hope you enjoy the pics, UC.
Rest in peace Erskine College.
Erskine college built in 1905 is due for demolition this year and any day now the demolition crews will move in. Urbex Central decided to take one more visit back before it is gone forever, come say goodbye to one of Wellington’s most famous abandoned, ‘haunted’ whatever you want to call it, buildings.
Black Palace
“Black Palace” (Damnak Sla Khmao) was a little summer palace of King Sihanouk, abandoned sometime in the late 1960’s or early 1970’s. It’s located on Bokor Hill Station in southern Cambodia. The “Palace” itself is not on a grand scale, but the overall spectacular location and many outer buildings must have been fairly impressive in its day.
The hill station was built as a resort by colonial French settlers as an escape from the heat, humidity and general insalubrity of Phnom Penh. Nine hundred lives were lost in the nine months during the construction of the resort in this remote mountain location.
The centrepiece of the resort was the grand Bokor Palace Hotel (which has never been a casino) inaugurated in 1925. See previous video- “Casino Rouge”. It was used as the location for the final showdown of the excellent Matt Dillon 2002 movie, “City Of Ghosts”.
Bokor Hill was abandoned first by the French in late 1940s, during the First Indochina War, because of local insurrections guided by the Khmer Issarak. It was only in 1962, for the reopening of the “Cité du Bokor”, that a casino was established in the new hotels near the lake, (Hotels Sangkum and Kiri). Some buildings were added at this time: an annex for the palace, the mayor’s office and a strange mushroomed concrete parasol.
The Bokor mountain was abandoned again in 1972, as Khmer Rouge took over the area. During the Vietnamese invasion in 1979, Khmer Rouge entrenched themselves and held on tightly for months. In the 1990s Bokor Hill was still one of the last strongholds of Khmer Rouge.
Abandoned Great Wall, China.
The great wall in China, one of the great wonders of the world.
Although seen as a tourist destination that is well kept and maintained by the Chinese government, the great wall spans for 8,851.8 kilometers. Of this 8000 Kilometers much of the great wall has fallen into disrepair and is subsequently abandoned and falling apart.
It takes about two hours of walking past the vast amounts of tourists before you get to the abandoned and what is arguably most representative version of the huge spanning great wall, we hope you enjoy the shots!
Abandoned Cement Works, South Island, New Zealand.
Having had this closed down and dilapidated cement works on the radar for a couple of years, the urbexcentral crew alongside wildboyzue (UK) finally got to take a visit!
As we drove the long drive to this location, we had mixed feelings of defeat and curiosity from earlier exploration attempts but we were determined to finally do something epic this road trip.
Now, with our target in sight we quickly worked out the best way to photograph the place and we were soon basking in an oasis of abandonment, from coming across remnants of a past busy workplace, to huge machinery and infrastructure, including a decommissioned coal run power plant!
Abandoned Cook House
We came across this dilapidated, soon to be demolished house recently after having it on our radar for quite some. After a shall we say, tight crawl we found ourselves surrounded in forgotten belongings and hoardings.
As we crept through the house we came across many memories of the old house owners past and it was quite sad to think that most of the amazing stuff in this place would soon be in the landfill, what a waste!
Abandoned Mini Golf In New Zealand!
On our recent trip down in the South Island of New Zealand we found ourselves accidentally stumbling across this soon to be demolished abandoned mini golf course in Christchurch, New Zealand.
As we walked through it, it felt barely abandoned and seemingly such a waste; it must have been a pretty cool course once upon a time, it is soon to be bowled over to make way for a redevelopment, most probably housing.
The Mill
This woolen mill in the South Island of New Zealand had been through troubled times, with it being saved from closure in 2012 until once again facing uncertainty in early 2016 when the company running the business finally went into receivership.
The machines, wool and remnants of the workers have lain dormant since, like everyone just up and left one day!
Our visit here was along route on our South Island urbex trip, never expecting such an intact woolen mill to be just sitting there decaying and forgotten. Subsequently our explore into the mill began cautiously and it appeared the further we ventured into the mill, the more it seemed likely we might suddenly bump into an angry ex worker of the mill (who may not have shared the same passion as we do for abandoned photography) any moment! Enjoy the photographs!
Abandoned Wellington Medical Centre
This medical centre located in Wellington, New Zealand suffered an extensive fire recently under suspicious circumstances, everything was still left here like the day of the fire. Inside it felt like the longer we stayed to document the place, the more odd medical supplies we found – needles, vaginal speculums and feces pots.
Abandoned Forensic Lab, Lunatic Asylum, North Island, New Zealand
This building was originally the forensic’s unit of an abandoned lunatic asylum which closed for good in 2007.
The decay and mold were immense in this building, the place is falling apart. Nature has began taking over this place and it almost seems like there is more vegetation than structure left.
Throughout its years of operation the asylum has had many accounts of violent patients, patient abuse and treatments used such as electric shock treatment.
Earthquake damaged pub square, Christchurch, New Zealand.
This hospitality square full of pubs, clubs and a real groovy music store in Christchurch was once a hub of entertainment. Since the 2011 earthquakes devastated the city this square has remained untouched and derelict while insurance claims are disputed.
Exploring the inside of the square I stumbled upon forgotten hipster clubs, lots of pigeon poop and endless amounts of decay and vandalism.
Abandoned Wellington Grandstand
This cricket grandstand and its surrounds, built in 1925 were originally built by prison labour and they were a popular recreational spot for colonial settlers.
Ninety one years later the grandstand has been declared ‘earthquake prone’ and has visible damage on its facade of earthquake damage. Due to it’s earthquake prone status the grandstand is closed to the public while assessment on its future continues, hopefully it can be preserved as it holds some of Wellington’s small amount of heritage.
Expired
This large (by NZ standards) purpose built former tertiary institute expired at around the same time this Kodak Ektar 64T film did. And just like this 35mm expired film, it is apparently getting another lease of life. There are new owners and supposedly new occupants- but the only life we saw were some homies running their dogs (who tried to have a go at us); an alleged owner who asked what we were taking photos of (selfies of course) & told us to leave; and an elderly security guard who said- just leave. One of UC have a particular connection to this place, having kind of studied (sic) here when it was still a place of education- not stagnation.
Abandoned New Zealand Mini golf Park
Located in a tourist town in New Zealand, this mini golf and go kart racing amusement park closed down in 2013, upon reading the reviews it is fairly obvious what caused it to close down, something along the lines of ‘uneven golf course’ and ‘worst mini putt course ever’.
The tourist towns of New Zealand have a limited amount of attractions and which seem to often struggle and sometimes disappear, closing down shortly after they open. The thermal activity in this town probably didn’t help either, as I took photos I couldn’t help but notice the cracks and holes in the grounds surrounding the park which had occurred due to the thermal activity beneath.
Casino Rouge
Exploring the ruin of the French colonial era Bokor Casino Hotel in Cambodia recently. The Casino was fought over by the invading/liberating Vietnamese army and the murderous Khmer Rouge from 1979 onwards. Due to it’s strategic place and size on Bokor plateau it was invaluable to either side to gain an advantage over the other. In recent years it has been cleaned up and somewhat structurally improved- unfortunately removing most of its neglected charm, tragedy and history in the process.
Church : Time
Exploring the abandoned former French colonial era church on Bokor Mountain in Cambodia recently. In 1978 the Vietnamese invaded Cambodia, toppling the murderous Khmer Rouge in a matter of weeks. There was however a stalemate for a time on Bokor (and other locations) as the Vietnamese and the Khmer Rouge battled it out- fighting between the church and nearby casino. In recent years the church has had occasional use- it’s first in nearly four decades. “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen…”
A Derelict Courthouse
It had always been on Urbexcentrals ‘to do list’ to find a abandoned court house, imagine the fun of acting out awaiting a sentencing in the dock! Perhaps even a trial surrounding artistic freedom and taking photos in forbidden places 🙂
The court house was built over a hundred years ago and was heated by 10 separate coal fires up until the 1960’s, a reflection on how the courthouse had been serving a bygone era, something which finally led to it’s abandonment and saw a new court house being built in 2006. A somewhat unique feature of the court house was that there was also no public waiting area, with people being forced to retire onto the streets, under the foyer of the nearest pie shop awaiting their sentencing.
This explore went smoothly and as always we were in and out with our pictures in a flash, we left feeling excited to have finally accomplished our goal of an abandoned courthouse but a little underwhelmed in what the interior of the building offered us in comparison. I suppose it makes sense, a symbol of justice to outsiders in contrast to a bleak interior that awaits criminals upon sentencing.
West Coast ghost town
Once a thriving railway township, Rewanui was abandoned in 1985 when the railway branch was closed. The town was taken care of and preserved by its caretaker until in 1988 where a huge landslide following a flood destroyed most of the buildings and bridges that remained, tragically killing the sole occupant of the town.
After quite a long walk and a lot of searching through bush we found many remnants of the past still exist throughout the valley including old coal carts and mines.
Abandoned Art
Located in Wellington is this dilapidated and abandoned former art gallery, before it was an art gallery it was some sort of industrial building that used a crane system, what a unique gallery this would have been. There was a safe and some other old trinkets from the past, that made us wonder of it’s previous uses, we hope you enjoy the shots!
The Ghost Tower
The Sathorn Unique (aka the Ghost Tower) is a 185 meter 49 story unfinished skyscaper in downtown Bangkok near the Chao Phraya river. The proposed luxury condominium tower was designed and developed by prominent architect and real estate developer Rangsan Torsuwan. By 1997 construction was estimated to be 80–90 percent complete when the Asian financial crisis hit. Bangkok’s real estate market collapsed, and the finance companies that had funded the project went bankrupt and were subsequently liquidated. Building construction projects across the city came to a halt and Bangkok was left with over 300 unfinished high-rise projects. However since then most of these buildings have been completed as the economy recovered- but the Sathorn Unique remains a ghost tower…
There are numerous urban legends and superstitions regarding the Sathorn held by people in the nearby community and Bangkok in general. Some believe the building was doomed from the beginning as the land upon which it sits is a former graveyard. Others believe that due to the Sathorn Unique’s shadow falling over the neighboring Wat Yan Nawa, that this brings it bad luck, resulting in its failed completion. After almost two decades and no completion in sight, perhaps there is something to these superstitions after all.
Over the years the Sathorn has become known a bit of an urban exploration mecca, so late last year while in Bangkok we thought we’d pay it a visit. Despite being officially off-limits to the public, access reportedly could be gained by finding your own way in- or bribing a security guard to let you in- we preferred the former. We found the building easily enough, you just have to look up. Unfortunately our timing couldn’t have been worse and was only out by a month or two, as the surrounding fence had been rebuilt and reinforced and certain security guards sacked- no one can enter now (unless your Spiderman) no matter what bribe is offered.
This appears to have occurred due to a number of factors; the increased popularity of the tower, the number of photos, videos and articles popping up on line- and the death of a tourist. In December 2014 the body of a Swedish man was found hanging on the 43rd floor. The cause of death was determined to be suicide, though the news prompted discussion regarding the safety and security of the building. Then in September 2015, Sathorn Unique Co. made known they had filed criminal charges of trespassing against five people who had posted material on the Web, including a pair of tourists who had created a video of themselves freerunning on the tower. They said that this was done in order to set an example and deter people from climbing the building. They added that the number of people illegally entering the premises had risen sharply during the past year, following an increase in online exposure, with over a hundred people entering on some weekends.
So at present the Ghost Tower seems to have been finally left for the ghosts to accommodate- but perhaps the future will offer opportunities for a return of the living…
New Zealand’s forgotten miniature village
In a small rural town of North Island New Zealand lives this little forgotten wall and village.
Once a labour of love for the pastor of the church who has now passed on, this little village and its figurines continue to decay without repair or anyone to take care of them.
Nokor
Not your usual urbex video, but exploring ruins nonetheless. This is the strange fusion temple complex of Banteay Prey Nokor in Cambodia that we visited late last year. Situated in countryside near the town of Kompong Cham, the original 11th century Mahayana Buddhist shrine has been added onto over the centuries and incorporated into a bewildering and sprawling complex of wat’s and stupa’s. Apart from a security guard and a couple of monks we had the place to ourselves. More to come from Cambodia soon…
Anatomy Class
The teacher in this Bulgarian classroom clearly wanted her/his students to fully know their surroundings and themselves. Anti-fascist partisan artwork was still on display well beyond the fall of communism from 1987, and about a decade later took on a state of suspended animation with the closure of this village school.
New Zealand’s Island Fortress
Another victim of the earthquakes, this historic wartime island was once used as a quarantine station, Maori fortification and a defence against Russian attacks.
On arrival and after a short swim across to the island we navigated our way up the steep barbed wire bank. Once inside the fort we were met by a beautifully designed historic fort which included a labyrinth of tunnels with torpedo and mine stores. The two disappearing guns on the fort were completed in 1895 and were never actually used to fire a shot in their years as part of the island fortification.
We hope they can restore this unique part of New Zealand’s history once again for visitors to appreciate it.
Fort Island
Fort Island
Fort Island
Fort Island
Fort Island
Fort Island
Fort Island
Fort Island
Fort Island
Fort Island
Fort Island
Torpedo store
Fort Island underground tunnel
Fort Island
Fort Island
Fort Island
Fort Island, revolving gun
Fort Island, disappearing gun
Fort Island
Fort Island, bunker
Fort Island
Fort Island, bed
Fort Island
Fort Island
Fort Island
Fort Island
Kingdom’s gone!
This derelict and forgotten film set was never actually used for filming as the movie was mothballed after running out of money. The set still stands waiting for its film crew and producers to perhaps one day return.
Exploring this abandoned movie set in the middle of rural New Zealand countryside was quite the experience, as we wandered through the film set which was designed to look more like Jerusalem than New Zealand it felt like we were entering some kind of cartoon world. Everywhere we ventured was artificial and built by film set designers, from the walls and floors to the odd props and building materials that were left lying around and never used.
The Mansion
Built out of New Zealand native kauri wood in 1899 and the largest structure in New Zealand around in its time, this grand mansion is slated for demolition following extensive earthquake damage.
The mansion was built lavishly both inside and out for a Scottish immigrant Allan McLean, and its beauty is resounding even in its currently dilapidated state. McLean donated his mansion to women’s education upon his death, a worthy cause – we hope McLean’s can eventually be restored and not demolished.
Exploring one of Christchurch’s last grand mansions still standing brought emotions of amazement and sadness as we looked around its unique beauty and its so-far-decided future, demolition.
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Hospital springs
Built in 1916 and located in the heart of the town and next door to the town’s biggest attraction, this old hospital has sat abandoned since 2003.
There is a large amount of decay throughout the derelict hospital which used to treat patients with hydrotherapy, with water leaks and peeling wall paper at every corner.
The hospital is of great historic value to New Zealand and we hope it can eventually be restored to some other purpose.
Endean’s Mill
Endean’s Mill finally closed in 1996 after 69 years of operation.
The factory, furnace, office and all the workers buildings still stand to this day, slowly decaying in time, it feels although everyone just up and left on the closure of the mill – never to return.
Quite the creepy place which seemed frozen in time, exploring each of the workers houses felt like walking into time capsules, enjoy the pictures.
North Korea in New Zealand
The information I had surrounding this location sounded almost mythological, an abandoned North Korean prison movie set in Queenstown?
Since access to the mountain had been closed for the last five years, I had to go in the hard way, straight up the sheer face of the mountain! A few cuts and bruises later navigating dense bush, deer and goat I finally reached the top.
What greeted me felt so out of place, an old North Korean prison surrounding by beautiful Queenstown scenery, Awesome!
Antique House
Finding this old abandoned house full of antiques was quite the mission, hidden among bushes out of sight, this house felt seemingly lost in time.
Greeting us as we explored this beautiful old house were memories of the past, a time capsule which was full of expensive looking old worn household items.
This place felt like people just left one day never to return, I would love to know the history behind this place and why there are so many lost memories sitting there untouched.
The Old Marine Zoo
Marine land was a marine mammal park that opened in 1965 and closed in 2009 with some of the animals being relocated and some staying on until they could be rehomed.
It was once home to a number of species including Californian sea lions, leopard seals, penguins, bottlenose dolphins and otters.
Throughout it’s years the park played hosts to big crowds until its decline where the longtime manager of the park resigned in 2009 after allegations of falsifying the documents that allowed them to keep fur seal pups.
This explore was very heavy on the senses, a strong odour of fish and a panicked visit to the park due to an alarm and incoming security arriving. The zoo was once extremely secure for good reason, with 24/7 cctv to protect the animals as numerous break-ins had happened in the past including some vandals who fed a dolphin nails!
Enjoy the pictures.
Horrors of the elderly
This explore went unexpectedly smooth and what every urban explorer hopes for – easy entry, no interruptions and a location that was full of memories of the past which offered a small glimpse into what went on at this now abandoned rest home hospital for the elderly.
Soon into the explore, I came across scenes akin to a horror movie, grey hairs still sat next to the ‘saloon’ of the old rest home, wheelchairs and toilet seats everywhere and possession’s lying around – even a nurses dress hanging up, sitting idle exactly how they were the day the hospital was closed.
Farewell Old Napier Hospital
A selection of images from our explores to Napier Hospital over the years, which is at the later stages of being demolished.
An amazing abandoned hospital that was a joy to explore, packed with things to see and memories of the past, rest in peace!
U R B E X C E N T R A L 