Upper South Island loop
from mountains to ocean

@Make a Knife

Want to try your hand at forge work, well you can and produce a knife at Make a Knife. Wakefield & Higgins Heritage Tractor Park & Make a Knife, bespoke knife handcrafted knife manufacturer Make A Knife, Nelson, Tasman, New Zealand. Make a Knife is run by Simon Whittaker and his family and based at the Higgins Heritage Park, a steam and traction engine museum. Ever wanted to have a go go at blacksmithing or knife making?

“Join us for a whole day activity – forging a knife from raw steel to a blade you will treasure forever. Using the traditional Blacksmith tool kit of forge, hammer and anvil we first forge and shape the blade. Once forged, a little tidying up with the file or grinder can be done prior to heat treating and attaching your handle.” For family members who are not interested in making a knife there is the opportunity to explore your horsemanship at Pony Equestrian Centre Contact us Giggling Pony Equestrian Centre.

VISIT DURATION – ALL DAY

@Make a Knife

Spooners Rail Tunnel @pe.tr.a.vel

Great Taste Trail: Wakefield to Kohatu Spooners Range tunnel is 1.35 km in length and it is a shared tunnel with the Great Taste Cycling Trail. It is an even surface with floor lighting which is triggered by movement. It is advisable you wear a head torch to assist with vision. The tunnel is hand carved. Check Travel Pack Information for details around the tunnel construction and history.

The 1.35 km-long tunnel was completed in 1893. The tunnel closed when the railway was decommissioned in 1955. The tunnel lay mostly unused for 60 years until it was re-opened in 2016 to become part of the Great Taste Trail. There is a story how the local member of Parliament sat on the railway lines, with her knitting in a vain attempt to keep the rail link open. She would be very pleased with the reimagined use of the tunnel and the opportunity of tourism to bring visitor dollars to the local economy.

VISIT DURATION 2 hours.

Qinney’ Bush Camp @Adrian Hodge

Quinney’s Bush Camp and the opportunity to dry fly fish the Motupiko River. Motupiko River is a well known haunt for dry fly fishing. Quinney’s Bush Camp has extensive adventure playground amenities including flying fox, water slides into the local river, hammocks, go-cart rides and skatepark.

Nelson Honey (walk across the road from Qinney’ Bush Camp). Visit Nelson Honey for live beehive viewing and processing factory. From origins as a small one-man apiary on the outskirts of Nelson in 1900, Nelson Honey today is still a family owned business but has grown to become a significant employer at Motupiko. “For more than 100 years the Cropp family have worked alongside nature, extracting honey delicately from honeycomb to bring you the finest quality product, direct from New Zealand’s own backyard.”

Qinney’ Bush Camp @Auckland i-SITE

Quinney’s Bush Camp

Campground amenities

Kawatiri Rail Tunnel @travel_with_scott

Located at Kawatiri Junction at the intersection of SH6 and SH63, 35 km northeast of Murchison. There is an information shelter, picnic site and toilets beside the large parking area. The walk starts from a carpark with information panels detailing the rich history of the area.

The drive from Nelson to Murchison through mountain beech forest, it is your first taste of South Island high country forest and it is tantalizing. At the Kawatiri junction wander to the river and there is  the famous tea coloured water of the Southern Alps. It looks as though crystal clear water has had tea poured into the stream. Vegetation leeches tannin and favours the water with light bronze colours. Kawatiri campsite: Kawatiri area, Nelson/Tasman region DOC campsite perhaps you need to check out facilities for a return visit.

West Coast characteristic tea coloured water

• Bookings not required
• First come, first served
• Self-service, cash only
• Non-powered sites
• Toilets
• Showers

After 200 metres the track crosses an old rail bridge before passing through a train tunnel built in 1923. A torch is helpful but not essential. The track returns via beech forest above the Hope River closing the loop at the entrance to the tunnel.

VISIT DURATION — 45 minutes

@goldendowns

Golden Downs Old Foresty Village. And a vibrant community encapsulated by Cameron family and their management of the Lodge since 1998. Golden Downs was the site of New Zealand’s larger government forestry operations established in the 1920’s. Now sustainable practices and woofing provide an alternative lifestyle for the residents. There is a campground welcoming visitors.

West Coast Lake Rototiti swimming in wet suit

St Arnaud is upmarket, with chalets rather than rustic baches in the wilderness. The nearby ski field and fly fishing opportunities as well as proximity to Christchurch (approximately 4 ½ hours) makes St Arnaud attractive. Saint Arnaud, New Zealand (Wikipedia). St Arnaud and Nelson Lakes National Park. Take State Highway 63 detour to St Arnaud and Lake Rotoiti for a glimpse of the second largest national park in New Zealand. St Arnaud and the Nelson Lakes National Park, crown jewel is Lake Rotoiti, a deep still glacial lake. It is an ideal place for water skiing, diving off the wharf (even in summer in a wetsuit).

The alpine village of St Arnaud is poised against the majestic mountains framing the lake. Nelson Lakes National Park is a door to explore the wilderness. Adventure tourism operators in St Arnaud village offer a choice of kayaking, river rafting, mountain biking, horse trekking and 4WD motorbiking. No dogs allowed near the lake shore, car parking area or the vicinity even when in the car while driving.

Lake Rotoroa @sariiinn7

Lake Rotoroa walking tracks: Nelson Lakes National Park

Nelson Lakes National Park – Lake Rotoroa Walks is a deep water glacial lake.

There are several walks

Rotorua Nature Walk, The gentle nature of this ramble is a botanist’s delight. Of all the short walks in the park, this one contains the greatest variety of tall forest trees, shrubs, climbing vines, mosses and particularly ferns. Here the beech–podocarp forest around the lake is at its most diverse.

• 25 minute loop walk, flat, easy
• Flower Brothers return walk, 15 minutes, easy

Braeburn Walk

• Time: 2 hr return

This walk leads along a wide and well graded track through a diverse remnant of beech and tall podocarp forest rich in bird life, then zigzags up to a picturesque mossy waterfall.

Lake Rotoroa @makoha_new_zealand

The track starts 400 m west along Braeburn Road from the Gowan River Bridge. Initially the track follows the remains of a road constructed in the 1950s during the hydro-electric investigations. Flanking the flat section at the beginning of the walk is a grove of distinctive fuchsia trees forming a natural avenue.

Know before you go

• Take repellent for ferocious sandflies.
• No water skiing
• Camping grounds: Unpowered

Camp near the lake edge, surrounded by native bush. Explore tall forests and the lakeshore, or tramp in the D’Urville and Sabine Valleys.

There is a boat ramp and jetty for outdoor activities.

• Unpowered
• Self-service: First come, first served
• No dogs

West Coast SH6 view before Murchison

Murchison’s story and the Buller River and its tributaries are inextricably entwined. The Buller is 177 km in length originating in the Nelson Lakes National Park. The Buller meets the sea at Westport. Near Murchison the Buller River becomes a force to be reckoned with. The Matakitaki, Mangles and Matiri Rivers flow into the Buller forming a major confluence. Flowing through narrow granite gorges the river boils and roars its way past Murchison. Murchison is part of the Nelson Regional District yet you are in an area where it is wild meets the west coast.

Gold prospecting, the ability to forge a living in a sparsely populated mountainous area and the scenery all contribute to the beginnings of your West Coast, South Island journey. You have opened the door to the West Coast with Murchison as an excellent introduction to a way of life governed by its mining legacy and the current relative isolation due to the Southern Alps.

Old Ghost Road @bikepacking

Lyell and the Old Ghost Road
Murchison is a natural hub to access what is rapidly becoming a trekking and mountain bike favourite, Old Ghost Road.
Nineteenth century miners trudged through the area, together with indispensable local Maori opening up traditional walking tracks to haul supplies, gold mining equipment and horses. The Old Dray Road in Lyell (Upper Buller Gorge) is the start connecting the Old Ghost road to Mokihinui River in the north.

The Old Ghost trail is 85 km passing forgotten settlements

The 85km-long Old Ghost Road will traverse majestic native forest, open tussock tops, river flats and forgotten valleys.A proud member of the New Zealand Cycle Trail, the volunteer-driven Mokihinui-Lyell Backcountry Trust is partnering with a range of other entities to make The Old Ghost Road a reality. It’s almost as if the engineers from the 1870’s knew we were coming!

Fomer mine pulleys and aerial shute, now nature and farmland

The Old Ghost Road online resource vividly describes the newest Great Ride, “This epic wilderness adventure follows an old gold miners’ route between the ghost town of Lyell in the Buller Gorge and Seddonville on the West Coast. Old Ghost Road traverses beautiful native forest, open tussock hilltops, river flats and forgotten valleys. The spirits of the old miners and track builders are inescapable. No less than five ghost towns populate the route. The Old Ghost Road is quite literally an 85km-long outdoor museum. The start from the South: Lyell Historic Reserve/DoC Campground. Due to The Old Ghost Road’s elevation profile, Lyell is strongly recommended as the starting point for mountain bikers tackling the whole trail (the direction of travel is less sensitive for trampers). 1200m elevation is gained via a steady climb past the Lyell Saddle Hut and up to Ghost Lake, while the descent to Stern Valley from Ghost Lake is steep and technical and therefore best attempted in a downhill direction. Riders and trampers can enjoy day and overnight trips from this end, which features lush beech forest, historic artifacts, and in the Lyell Saddle to Ghost Lake section, sweeping views.

Gold mining relics being reclaimed by nature

The Lyell Historic Reserve has ample parking, a Department of Conservation Campground, water and toilet facilities and an insect-screened shelter to make all your final preparations from. The Lyell Historic Reserve is 62km east of Westport, 15km east of Inangahua, 49km from Reefton, or 35km south of Murchison on State Highway 6 in the Upper Buller Gorge.
Grid reference: NZTM2000, E1520990-N5372328
Latitude: -41.79697466, Longitude: 172.04899791

Historic graveyard of Lyell

Lyell Historic Reserve has ample parking, a Department of Conservation Campground, water and toilet facilities. The campsite has signposts to Lyell Cemetery. Leaving from the campsite, the track passes the former Catholic Church site and enters native beech forest clinging to a steep hillside and leads on to one of the more picturesque goldfield cemeteries. The headstones, some in lace iron fenced plots are of young people and tell the story of tragic deaths. It is quiet and the surrounding beach trees offer a place of contemplation. Between 30 and 40 people were buried here from 1880 to 1900.

Walking for 10 – 15 minutes the signage will indicate you are at Maori Bar, the site of the first gold strike in 1862. There is a tunnel which later miners drove through solid rock to dewater the creek bed for easier mining. The name originates from the local Maori who provided navigation and tracking knowledge of the area to the prospectors.

Cross the creek at the junction to the Old Ghost Road and continue on to the Croesus Battery. If you wish to go no further there is a lookout platform over the remains of the stamper battery and berdans. Retrace your walk and follow the Old Dray Road back via Deep Creek to the carpark.

Croesus track @Baptiste Maryns

Croesus Battery

From the junction at Maori bar, look out for a reef of “hungry” (non-auriferous) quartz which appears in the track side cutting. From there it is 600 m to a point overlooking the old battery, reached via a track and steps. Also on the creekside site is a berdan dish, which revolved to crush quartz using heavy steel balls, and relics of an unusual turbine which drove all the machinery.

VISIT DURATION 1 hour

DOC know before you go safety message
Remain on the main tracks. Decades of prospecting and mining have made the countryside unsafe with deep shafts concealed in the undergrowth. Suitable footwear and clothing is recommended along with insect repellent when lingering at the interpretative panels along the way.

Waiutu goldminng hotel remains

Waiuta area: Places to go on the West Coast is a highlight for today. There are visible reminders of the industry and the lives of over 7,000 miners and their families.  It is evocative with the bush reclaiming areas, the industrial archeological sites in good condition and the sheer remoteness of the area. It is a considerable distance from Reefton or any other settlement. The road is gravel, narrow and seems to be disappearing into the bush. Before you arrive at the Waiuta heritage area you will pass Blackwater School. It is worth a stop to view an intact 1950’s schoolhouse, now in dire need of a new roof.

Blackwater school

The school was built in 1913 to serve the small mining, sawmilling and farming Blackwater area in the upper Grey Valley. Blackwater also flourished with a sawmill to serve the mine, as well as a post office, a police station, a store, a butcher shop and a hotel.

When the mines closed in Waiuta, the population of Waiuta and Blackwater dwindled. The school closed in 1949. It sits on private land but is owned by the community. Stuff article, Community hopes to save historic West Coast school. Visitors are encouraged to respect the heritage site and make a gold coin donation in the visitor box.

Waiutu abandoned mine

The Department of Conservation (DOC) and the Friends of Waiuta have been working to restore the town’s history and want to develop it as a tourist attraction. Many of the houses were relocated when the town was abandoned in 1951 and gorse has taken over much of the land. Several buildings remain though, including Gills Cottage, the barber shop, the police station and a house belonging to miner and photographer Joseph Divis​. The hospital had been rebuilt into a lodge, while the barber shop was recently re-clad and made weather-tight. The shell of the Olympic-size swimming pool built by local miners is still there.

Department of Conservation description of walking tracks.

All of these tracks are within 30min drive from Reefton and offer a taste of Reefton’s fascinating history.

Prohibition Mine and Ball Mill

• Time: 1 hr

From the old Waiuta town site, “Pro Road” winds up to the top of the country’s deepest mineshaft (879 metres) and foundations of the ball mill where quartz was ground to extract gold. There are fine views from a 580 metre altitude. Part of the return journey can be made via the miners’ short-cut track, which leaves the road just below the mine.

Waiutu information plaques

Waiuta Town Walk

• Time: 1 hr 30 min, return
• Distance: 2 km

The township of Waiuta is signposted from the Reefton highway (SH 7), 21 km south of Reefton. Follow the sealed and shingle road a further 16 km to Waiuta. The road is suitable for cars. Once you get to the site walk from the main information site along Top Road. This walk passes the Blackwater mine, settlement and recreation areas. Historic photos depicting the town are interpreted along the walk.

Snowy Battery Track

• Time: 2 hr 30 min, return
• Distance: 5.1 km

From the old Waiuta town site a well formed downhill track leads you to the remains of a massive gold extraction plant, including large cyanide tanks and machinery foundations. The return journey can be either: returning by the track in, following the water race from the battery to powerhouse site then up a gentle graded track to Waiuta, or from the powerhouse crossing the river to Hukarere Road for a pre arranged pick up.

Getting there

Waiuta is halfway between Reefton and Greymouth. It is signposted from SH7, 21 km south of Reefton. Turn onto Waiuta Rd, then right onto Blackwater Rd, which becomes Pearce Rd.

NOTE: Gold mining is still on the agenda in Waiuta… Tasman Mining and OceanaGold signed an agreement in July 2019 to develop the high-grade Blackwater gold deposit at Waiuta. A 20-year mining permit was issued this month by state agency New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals, which enables development of 3.3 kilometres of exploration tunnels to find out how much gold is available before mining begins. OceanaGold, which owns both the Macraes and Waihi gold mines, has provided the seed financing for the project. Tasman Mining is leading the project’s development and has the exclusive right to purchase Blackwater from OceanaGold if the mine goes ahead.

VISIT DURATION 3 – 4 hours.

Lake Christabel @NZ Bush Adventures

Big River tracksExplore a remarkable array of goldmining relics in Big River, one of the most intact mining areas.

• Difficulty: Intermediate/Advanced

Kirwans Track and Waitahu Valley
The walk up to Kirwans Hut is one of New Zealand’s classic overnight tramps. A three day loop can also be made by going down the Waitahu Valley. There are incredible historic relics to be seen in this area.

• Duration: 2-3 days
• Difficulty: Advanced/Expert

Lake Christabel tracks

A number of tracks lead to a hut at Lake Christabel.

• Duration: 2-3 days
• Difficulty: Advanced

Rahu Saddle Tracks – Reefton

These tracks lead up in Victoria Forest Park from SH7, in between Reefton and Springs Junction.

• Difficulty: Advanced/Expert

Reefton short walks, Victoria Forest Park, West Coast region @Doc

Reefton short walks

Reefton is a great place to base yourself and your family. All of these interesting walks can be accessed within 15-minute drive of Reefton.

• Duration: 15 min – 1 hr 30 min
• Difficulty: Easiest

Reefton walking tracks – Victoria Forest Park

There are a number of walking tracks in the Victoria Forest Park area that will get you into some interesting places such as Waiuta, Inangahua suspension bridge and Murray Creek.

• Duration: 15 min – 1 day
• Difficulty: Easiest/Easy/Advanced

Reefton mountain bike tracks @Doc

Big River tracks
Explore a remarkable array of goldmining relics in Big River, one of the most intact mining areas.

• Difficulty: Advanced

Kirwans Track and Waitahu Valley
The walk up to Kirwans Hut is one of New Zealand’s classic overnight tramps. A three day loop can also be made by going down the Waitahu Valley. There are incredible historic relics to be seen in this area.

• Difficulty: Advanced

Reefton mountain bike tracks

The beech forest and historic goldfields surrounding Reefton offer an excellent range of mountain biking opportunities. Most tracks can be accessed by bike or a short 10-15 minute drive from Reefton.

• Difficulty: Easy/Intermediate/Advanced/Expert

Slab Hut Creek conservation campsite @Doc

Slab Hut Creek Campsite

Close to Reefton township and a great base for exploring Victoria Forest Park walks. Try gold fossicking in the creek, or mountain bike the road.

• Fees: Adult (18+ years): $8 per night; Child (5 – 17 years): $4 per night; Infant (0 – 4 years): free; Pay online at the time of booking.
• Category: Standard
• Facilities: 18 non-powered/tent sites
• Dog access: No dogs