No Fixed Abode: Underneath the arches

Sat 23 Jan 2016 - Karamea and the Oparara Basin

Sunshine! We awoke to a beautiful, warm morning with the sun in a cloudless sky, so pleasant that Glenn had his breakfast outside whilst Yvonne stayed in the safety of the van avoiding more sandfly bites. We’d planned for an early start but, not wanting to waste the weather, took a short stroll along the beach, which went on as far as the eye could see with a couple of locals watching to catch the waves on their surf boards.

Once packed we drove the short distance to the village/town of Karamea. It is a tiny, quaint, end of the road (literally) sort of place with a short main street hosting an eclectic selection of shops and, for today, a small ‘market’ (think tabletop sale with seven tables) with locals selling various wares, where we bought some courgettes and and some courgette cake - interesting.

Then it was off to the place we’d travelled to see, the Oparara Basin - another ‘don’t miss’ in the Lonely Planet, he’s on his last chance!

The book does describe the road there as rough, narrow and steep - he got that bit very right. The ‘road’,built by loggers, was 10 miles of undulating, twisty, bumpy dirt road that had the van skipping around as the rear wheels lost and regained traction on the washboard surface. By the time we got to the carpark Yvonne was a nervous wreck and needed a cuppa as we had no vodka to hand.

Once recovered we set off for the star attraction, Oparara Arch. A natural limestone arch 200m long and 37m high, with the Oparara river which is whisky coloured, flowing sedately beneath it. More like a massive tunnel than an arch it is difficult to believe it has been carved by the river. Looking up we could see the dripping of water forming stalactites and the roots of the trees above dangling over the edge. It is an impressive place and we dawdled a while feeling very small.

Back to the van for a spot of lunch then off on the next walk to Mirror Tarn and Moria Gate, another smaller arch. The tarn was something and nothing. It did mirror but with nothing much to reflect except the trees on the far shore the effect wasn’t exactly stunning. Moria Gate, however, was another story. After a walk alongside the river through the moss clad bush, a testament to the 6m (~230”) of rainfall this area receives a year, we came to the Moria Gate viewpoint and thought “ok, pretty enough but not as good as the other one”. Then - the path crossed over the top of the arch and led to a small aperture in the rock that we could climb down and end up on a beach beneath the arch. Brilliant place. Walking along a shelf of rock that is covered when the river is in flood were able to walk through and under the whole arch. At one end many rough looking stalactites had formed and were beginning to form stalagmites on the floor, some 10m below. At the other end a large fallen tree had become trapped in the rocks by flood water and behind it a cave with lots of water worn shapes stretched back some 20m into the rock, which we were able to explore with the aid of the small torch we’d brought with us. We spent some time watching the whisky coloured water, caused by the tanins from rotten vegetation, flow past and just enjoying the water hewn ambience of the place but eventually we climbed back out blinking in the sunshine and returned to the van for a cuppa.

As with most DOC sites there was a picnic area with lots of information boards and it was fascinating learning about the limestone scenery, the historic logging activities and the 18 month construction of one of the footpaths undertaken by a DOC team of five blokes that camped up here each week, rain or shine, only returning to Karamea at weekends. What a hardy bunch.

Following another 1.5 miles further along the road we came to our final adventure - two ‘open’ caves that we could explore with our torches. The first, Crazy Paving, had a funky floor created by the mud drying out into cracked slabs that looked, as the name suggests, like crazy paving. As we progressed into the cave, looking for long legged spiders and beetles, the passage become lower and lower until it fizzled out.

The second cave, Box Canyon, was much larger with massive water eroded features along the roof and walls. It ended in a large chamber that our puny torches we barely able to illuminate so we had to shine them on the floor to move then stand still while we looked around.

After finding no beetles and only the nests of the spiders hanging by threads from the ceiling we returned to the van to face the wild road back to civilisation. A truly great day out was wrapped up by returning back along the coast ride and over the high passes in the sunshine so we could appreciate the views. We serviced and refuelled the van at Westport then pushed on a short way inland and up the Lower Buller Gorge until we found a turnoff that we could spend the night. As it was late we dined by van light and went straight to bed.