Karamea and the Northern West Coast
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"Don't be surprised if everyone waves to you as they pass by in Karamea... It's that kind of place."
If you're among the growing number of travellers who are looking to escape the usual tourist route for a subtler but more genuine Kiwi experience, you'll be on the right track when you head for the Karamea region, at the top of the South Island's West Coast.
Enveloped by the mountains of Kahurangi National Park and sealed in by the Tasman Sea to the west, Karamea is a geographical island paradise with a wealth of natural beauty just 100 kilometres up the coast from Westport.
The road to Karamea is one of the most beautiful drives in the world and affords stunning views of the Tasman coast, river valleys, verdant forest and jagged mountain ranges. The journey takes you north from Westport, through the charming seaside villages of Granity and Hector and across the Mohikuniui River before heading up into the densely forested mountains of the Kahurangi National Park.
You'll pass ancient tree giants, beneath majestic tree ferns and go high over the Karamea Bluff (stop your car, check out the view of the Tasman from the mountain top and listen to the symphony of birdsong) before dropping into the broad alluvial coastal plain at Little Wanganui. You'll pass happily grazing dairy herds on lush green pasture, the expansive Otumahana Lagoon and over the mighty Karamea River before arriving in the beautiful hamlet of Karamea...getting there is just the beginning of your adventure.
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Karamea's Attractions
There's a wealth of sightseeing opportunities on offer in the Karamea region.The Oparara Basin
The Oparara Basin has a full day of activities, including cave tours through the Honeycomb Caves where you can see a very well preserved skeleton of a giant moa, an underground river, a limestone cathedral lit by a myriad of glow worms, ancient limestone pillars and chandeliers and exit from a massive arched cavern straight into verdant rainforest.
The road into the Oparara Basin from Karamea township winds through the beautiful native rainforest of the Kahurangi National Park, which is currently under consideration for listing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Oparara Track
Opened November 2008 by Patron of the Oparara Trust, David Bellamy OBE
It was recently made possible to tramp the length of the Oparara Valley and Gorge with a brand new track connecting the Oparara Basin carpark to the Fenian Track, a historic gold mining track leading from the dairy lands of Karamea straight into mountains and rainforest of the Oparara Gorge as it abruptly rises from the plains. The new track travels accross primarily virgin forest with a large proportion of mature rimu, matai and totara. In the gullies, the understorey is spectacularly lush with rich tree fern growth that gives a strong primeval atmosphere. The sound of silence, save for the distant piopio and the occasional call of a kaka, can be overwhelming.
Caves and Arches, Short Walks from the Basin Car Park
Along with the many short walks in the Oparara Basin, you'll pass through an enchanted wonderland of prehistoric moss-covered vegetation from mighty natives to tiny colourful mushrooms, lichens and flowers. The tracks in the Oparara Basin are easily negotiated and allow people of all ages to experience amazing natural features that would otherwise have been hidden to all but the most extreme adventurer or hardened bushman.
Oparara Arch
The biggest limestone arch in the Southern Hemisphere is at the end of one track, a massive stone structure bridging a large river and forming a tunnel for more than 200 metres.
Moria Gate Arch
The Moria Gate arch is smaller, but a highly spiritual place for quiet introspection and meditation in the bosom of nature...a visit to Moria Gate is a must.
Mirror Tarn
A little further on is the Mirror Tarn, a still pond about the size of a rugby pitch. Tall beech trees grow right to the edge of the water, sheltering the surface from any breeze. The leaves of the beech trees fall into the water and release their tannins, staining the fresh water a dark tea hue, which allows for a perfect mirror of the sky...to stand at the water's edge and look down into the sky is an astounding pleasure.
Paul's View on the Heaphy Track
Live like a millionaire for as little as $20 a night, awake to a choice of view: pristine mountain scenery or the roaring Tasman Sea.
One of New Zealand's nine great walks, the Heaphy Track, finishes (or starts, depending on which way you're heading) at Karamea. The 82-kilometre, four-day tramp attracts visitors from all over the world every year. Many people choose to walk only to the first or second huts on the track instead of walking its entire length. The huts, Heaphy and Lewis, are Department of Conservation-maintained bush cabins with gas cooking facilities, open fires, bunks with mattresses, large camping grounds, toilets and running-water facilities.
The Karamea Gorge
Closer to town is the Karamea Gorge, a trout fisherman's paradise, and rated the most difficult stretch on one of the top ten multi-day rafting rivers in the world. The Karamea is, after the Buller, Kahurangi National Park's largest river. It's course through the mountains is unusual in that it initially flows for a distance away from where it will leave the mountains, before looping back round through a deeper and deeper valley. It finally cuts through a precipitous water gap between the Fenian Range and Stormy Ridge, a canyon with precipitous slopes rising more than 800m on both sides. The force of the water through this narrow, dark chasm after rain can be frightening. For the brave, there is a track along it's bank to Grey Hut (a difficult overnight tramp), bu for the more casual trampert this track is well worth exploring this track to the Big Rock, a solid rock stoppered in the river that is larger than most houses.
Big Rimu Tree
One of the lower Gorge's features, the aptly named Big Rimu Tree, is a tree so large that when the region was logged about 60 years ago, the technology available at the time was insufficient to handle a tree of its size must be seen to be appreciated and to stand beside its mammoth trunk is a quite humbling experience.
Other Activities
There is also fishing, surfing or bird watching at the Karamea River estuary. For those interested in the latter, black swans, egrets, ducks, pukeko, oystercatchers, herons, gulls and hundreds of other birds congregate at the estuary. Tuis, wood pigeons and bellbirds will wake you in the morning with their dawn chorus and there is a vast stretch of sandy beach-here you might stroll along all day without encountering a soul except perhaps your own!
If a round of golf is your thing, don't forget to bring your clubs and try out the decent nine-hole course right next to the beach Eith a little imagination, the Tasman's roaring surf could easily be the crowd at St. Andrews!
On the drive back, tune in to the Local Community Radio Station, which broadcasts 24/7 on 107.5 FM from a shed behind Rongo Backpackers. You'll hear an eclectic mix of music, humour, debate and social commentary.
History
The region's past includes gold rushes, a flax boom and a huge timber industry. Karamea was once a thriving seaport and has weathered freak storms and earthquakes. Details of these and other historical happenings can be checked out at the local museum.
The Karamea region remains a peaceful natural enclave of forest, sea and sky you'll love what they haven't done to the place!
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