 |
| Moria Gate Arch near Karamea |
The West Coast has a mystique of its own. Cut off from the rest of the South Island by
mountain ranges and with a well-deserved reputation for wet weather, it has
developed a hardy breed of inhabitants.
First discovered by Māori searching for greenstone, and inundated by men
from all over the globe in its gold-rush days, it is now a quiet part of the
country, beloved by the descendants of those early settlers. The mountains that hem in the West Coast
settlements have given rise to the glaciers that draw tourists to the area,
while the high yearly rainfall has produced the lush beech forests and dramatic
waterfalls that enchant visitors. It is
now the wild beauty of the area that leads overseas visitors and New Zealanders
alike to explore what the West Coast has to offer.
We
always love visiting Karamea, at the northernmost end of the west Coast. Only the Heaphy Track goes further north,
into Golden Bay. Karamea is almost 100
kilometres north of Westport, the road following the shoreline to Summerlea,
then winding and wiggling its way through mountains, before meeting the coast
again just before Karamea. In fact, a
gravel road leads further north to the start of the Heaphy Track. This is a multi-day walk we would like to
complete some time—but have only walked up a part of the first section to the
Scotts Hill Lookout. We have also
wandered around the Nīkau Walk which is beside the beach.
This
is where I must remark on that other famous West Coast feature—the
sandflies. These creatures, actually blackflies,
have plagued everyone who ventures to the West Coast, though some locals seem
to become immune to the bites. We always
spray ourselves liberally with repellent, and try to cover up, when in those places
where they are thickest. The first summer
we spent in the South Island we didn't have mesh insect screens in Tangaroa's windows and suffered
accordingly. This was a quickly-added
refinement!
Eleven
kilometres north of Karamea there was a turnoff to the Oparara Valley. Accessed by a further 16 kilometres of steep,
gravel road (which is unsuitable for motor-homes) the caves and arches of the Oparara
Valley are well worth the effort. There
are two lovely walks here, through the mossy rainforest. The first walk is to the Oparara Arch. This takes about half an hour, one way, and
we were delighted to see South Island robins fluttering around us on the
track. The walk followed the Oparara
River, which is shallow and tannin-filled, providing pretty reflections of the
bush—ferns and moss-encrusted beech and podocarp trees. The arch itself was a magnificent, natural
limestone bridge, soaring 39 metres above the river. It has a width of 49 metres, and stretches
for 200 metres—all these measurements duly recorded on a sign.
 |
| South Island robin on the track |
Close
to the start of this track was a walk in the opposite direction, the one and a
half hour, Moria Gate and Mirror Tarn Loop.
There are two more natural features to see here, the Mirror Tarn—which
reflects the kahikatea, rimu and beech even more magnificently than the
river—and the Moria Gate Arch. This Lord of the Rings-inspired name seems
appropriate, given that so much of the South Island was used for filming the
movies, and the forest certainly has an otherworldly quality. Trees, grasses and ferns cling to, and
cascade off, the arch—but the best part is getting right underneath. The arch is cave-like here with pools of
brown water. It is a magical setting.
Our
final exploration was of two caves just a short walk from the car park. Crazy Paving Cave is accurately named—its
floor is created from deposits of dried-up mud.
Box Canyon is much bigger with steps down into a large chamber with mazy
side-tunnels. We spotted some large cave
weta in the caves, though we didn't really see where we had been until we got
back to Tangaroa and looked at the
photographs. The flash had illuminated
much more than we could see in the dark caves.
Heading
south we parked the bus beside the hotel at sleepy Seddonville. We had thought of walking the Charming Creek
Track but the publican suggested we cycle it—which was quicker, if more
bumpy. This 19-kilometre-long track
followed the route of an old railway used for hauling coal and timber from the
valley, and many of the sleepers were still in place!
Much
of the West Coast's history was founded on gold and coal mining—and the
Charming Creek area is no exception. The
Seddonville end of the walkway started beside the entrance to the abandoned
Charming Creek coal mine site. We spent
a while looking around this area, which was full of interesting old machinery
from the mining era, such as rusting boilers and stationary engines. There were also tunnels, though signs warned
not to enter because of unstable roofs and poisonous gases. All along the walkway were reminders of the
industrial past, including remains of sawmills, which gave extra interest to
the regenerating bush trail. Most of the
walkway was flat and easy to ride (apart from the places where the sleepers
still lay across the rails) with swingbridges over the creek in places.
Towards
the end of the walkway the track clung to the hillsides, hard against a cliff
face, while further on it passed under a rock overhang. It then went through a long, dark tunnel
before coming to an area that had recently suffered a severe slip. I scrambled over while Malcolm carried the
bikes across. Finally we reached the Mangatini
Falls. These were 25 metres in height,
dropping down into a pool in the river at their base. The walkway continued on to Ngakawau but we
turned around at this point and cycled back to Seddonville.
 |
| Mangatini Falls |
 |
| Slip on the track |
One
of the highlights of this stretch of the West Coast was our visit to
Denniston. I had read The Denniston Rose by Jenny Pattrick and
had long wanted to see the famous Denniston Incline for myself. We spotted the sign at Waimangaroa and drove
up the steep and windy road to what was once the town of Denniston.
Back in the
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Denniston was New Zealand's largest
coal mine and a thriving mining community, home to over 1,500 people. Perched above high cliffs on a windswept and
barren plateau, people living in Denniston were extremely isolated. Access to the settlement was by a very steep
and windy track, or in a railway wagon on the infamous incline itself.
The
Denniston Incline was widely recognised as an amazing feat of engineering. The incline dropped 510 metres from the
mining settlement to Conns Creek below.
It is incredibly steep. As we
stood and looked over the edge of the incline I understood why many women were just
too scared to make another journey down in a wagon, preferring to stay forever
on the plateau. The incline was closed
in the 1960s when a road was built that made it easy for workers to live on the
coast. The mine finally stopped working
in 1995.
Denniston
is now a tourist attraction. The
stunning views up and down the coast would make the drive up worthwhile even if
there were nothing else to see. The
Denniston Heritage Trust, the Department of Conservation, and the Friends of
the Hill Society are working to preserve and protect the area's unique
industrial history. From the car park to
the edge of the incline large information panels detailed Denniston's social
life, its mining and engineering history.
Scattered around were pieces of machinery and other remnants of the mine
and the settlement.
 |
| Looking up the Denniston incline |
 |
| At the top of the incline |
We
spent a couple of hours wandering around the ghost town and mine area,
marvelling at the hardy nature of those who lived and died on 'the hill'. It was a beautiful day but it was easy to
imagine the same area buffeted by wind and lashed by rain. Curious to see more, we drove further into
the plateau, exploring dirt roads and the ruins of little settlements. The tranquillity was disturbed however by
huge trucks carrying coal from one of the private mines operating on the
plateau.
Tangaroa was next parked beside the Star
Tavern at Tauranga Bay, Cape Foulwind— where the parking is free for NZMCA
members. We had a great lunch there and
met some of the friendly locals. (Local
trivia - the Star is reputedly the closest New Zealand tavern to
Australia.)
 |
| Cape Foulwind |
In the afternoon we went for a
ramble along the Cape Foulwind Walkway.
The headland was named 'Rocky Cape' by Abel Tasman when he anchored here
in 1642, his first anchorage in New Zealand.
An astrolabe, similar to the one he used for navigation is displayed
along the cliff-top walk. James Cook had
worse weather when he visited in 1770, the Endeavour
was blown offshore by gales. The return
walk took about three hours, across undulating farmland and passing the
lighthouse and a fur seal colony. We
watched the seals for a long time—there were many pups being pushed and pulled
by their mothers as they emerged from the sea.
Their ungainly movements were a contrast to the sinuous gracefulness
they display in their aquatic environment.
Although
it was windy along the cliffs, the wind was warm. No doubt though, the wind does become foul at
times, leading to a need for a lighthouse on the cape. The present lighthouse is automated but
stands on the site of an earlier wooden, manned one. Luckily the lighthouses have prevented ships
being lost in the area, although there was a mystery shipwreck sighted by the
early explorers Heaphy and Brunner in 1846.
They were told the boat had been laden with wool, and historians suspect
this was the Rifleman, lost in 1825
en route from Hobart to England. Parts
of the wreck were again exposed in the 1970s.
 |
| On the Great Coast Road |
The road between Westport and Greymouth is known
as the Great Coast Road, and is one of the top ten drives in the world
according to the Lonely Planet. We stopped
to take photographs, as one stunning bay after another came into view with each
bend in the road. About half way down
the road was Punakaiki, home of the Pancake Rocks. These limestone formations (which look like
piles of giant pancakes) began forming 30 million years ago. Lime-rich marine creatures fell to the seabed
and were then overlaid by softer clay and mud.
Seismic action has lifted the limestone above water level, and erosion
by the elements has created the distinctive 'pancakes'. The loop track around the rocks and blowholes
took about twenty minutes to stroll around and is a unique and popular stop in
the area.
 |
| Punakaiki |
Information about pplaces mentioned in this post - correct at time of writing
Walks
- ·
Heaphy Track Walks
Scotts Hill
Lookout: I hr return, easy
Nīkau Walkway: 30 min loop, easy
Access: at the start of
the Heaphy Track, at the end of Karamea-Kohaihai Rd,
- ·
Oparara Walks
www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/nelson-tasman/places/kahurangi-national-park/things-to-do/tracks/oparara-basin-walking-tracks
www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/nelson-tasman/places/kahurangi-national-park/things-to-do/tracks/oparara-basin-short-walks
Oparara Arch: 1 km, 25 min one way, easy: walking track
Moria Gate Mirror
Tarn Loop:
4.1 km, 1.5 hr round trip, easy: walking track
Crazy Paving Cave: 200m, 10 min return, easy:
walking track
Box Canyon Cave: 200m, 10 min return, easy:
walking track
- ·
Cape Foulwind Walkway
3.4 km one way, 1 hr 15
min, easy: walking track
Access: Tauranga Bay Rd,
Cape Foulwind
Cycle Trails
- ·
Charming Creek Walkway
Charming Creek Rd,
Seddonville or from Ngakawau
www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/west-coast/places/charming-creek-area/things-to-do/tracks/charming-creek-walkway
9.5 km one way, 2-3 hrs
walking, intermediate grade 3 cycling
Places to visit
- ·
Denniston Plateau
Take Denniston Rd at
Waimangaroa
www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/west-coast/places/denniston-area
- ·
Punakaiki
SH 6 Coast Rd, Punakaiki
www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/west-coast/places/paparoa-national-park/punakaiki-pancake-rocks-and-blowholes
20 minute, easy walk
around blowholes and rocks
No comments:
Post a Comment