[Karamea, New Zealand] Not in the metaphorical ‘end of the journey’ sense, but literally, today we drove north until there was no more road. The weather didn’t clear this morning but it did stop raining long enough for us to sort the van out and get back on the road with a damp smell just behind our heads. We blitzed through Westport (the only settlement of substance today) and carried on up the crazy coastal road that has been hacked into the sea cliffs.

More small little villages with names like Fairdown, Granity and Hector had very little to look at besides the usual general stores, cafes and endless arts and crafts (although I did see more half-pipes). At Summerlea the road turns inland around an immense bluff. The road started to wiggle and climb. No idea what possessed them to build it just for a handful of villages. The views of tree covered mountains as far as we could see was again beautiful but it was a very long and slow ascent and descent.

Karamea (population 650, no cell signal) is the last village on the road. If you want to go further north you have to start hiking the Heaphy trail. We passed through following the tar road until we hit the gravel. We were heading for the Oparara arches but the road just kept going and going with nobody in sight. It was a little concerning. We came around a bend to find a bustling visitors centre car park complete with picnic tables, loos and information boards. You have to love this country!

The Oparara arch is the largest limestone arch in the country (~200m long) and was only a short walk from the car park. It honestly was not too impressive. I guess we have been spoilt. The forest walk was atmospheric – trees heavy with moss with a tannin stained river bubbling below. We checked out the other (smaller) arch in the area and two caves complete with glowworms before heading back to Karamea. Sounds like the caves further up (Honeycomb Caves) are more interesting but access is restricted to guided tours.

Thankfully there was a petrol station in Karamea. All that dirt road meant we were almost out. We noticed a ‘Domain’ campsite sign and followed it along some municipal buildings. It lead to a perfectly manicured rugby field with a few ‘campervan sites’ dug into the bush along the touchline. The ‘facilities’ were too basic for us and our collection of damp gear so we opted for the fully serviced campsite on the way out of town. A really pleasant little spot protected from the wind and with the help of a little sunshine we were able to sort ourselves out. The best part was the discovery of a high speed and unprotected WiFi hotspot – the first time in NZ. No cell signal, but high speed WiFi? We internetted ourselves almost to death – it’s been over 3 weeks without WiFi! Hope we didn’t use all their bandwidth 🙂

[Pictures: Me and the Limestone arch at Oparara, not too impressive (me or the arch)]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi