To Karamea via Westport

We left Fox in dry weather heading north and enjoyed the beautiful coastal route. As a highlight of New Zealand road construction, the quite busy coastal road led over an old bridge that could only be driven on one lane and as a crown there were railway tracks embedded. The pavement was also adventurous, the tar was simply applied to the old wooden planks, the board structure could be seen through the broken pavement. Too bad no train came by, I would have liked to see the spectacle.

In Westport we had reserved a cabin on the campsite for the overnight stay, as rain was forecasted. And it came, the last 50 km we drove in pouring rain. It didn't stop for the rest of the day, so we only had a brief look at the beautiful beach and went to the restaurant.

The next morning it was still raining, so just refuel, go to the supermarket and continue. Our actual destination was Karamea, about 100 km north of Westport and quite remote and sleepy, as the road there is not a through road. The route was great in terms of landscape, initially close to the coast and then a detour over a few mountains with dense forest and many narrow curves up to 400 meters in altitude.

In Karamea we had also booked a fixed accommodation, this time a "Bache" for 2 days, as the Kiwis call weekend houses, to make a trip further north the next day. The Bache was a bit old but spacious and fully equipped, even with its own bathroom, what a luxury! There were several of these huts next to each other in a garden, all painted in a different rainbow color. Anyway, it looked quite funny. The mopeds were parked directly in front of it in a huge puddle, as it continued to rain heavily. During the night, it finally stopped, and the huge pool in front of our hut had already drained.

Karamea itself doesn't really have much to offer, there is only a small shop, a backpacker, a pub, not even a gas station, and it is only inconvenient to get to the beach. But the area north offers beautiful hiking opportunities, e.g. the multi-day Heapy Track to Golden Bay or to the extraordinary limestone formations Oparara Arch and Moria Gate Arch. So, the next day, it even stopped raining, we made a trip with the mopeds over winding gravel roads into the wilderness.

The first destination was the very impressive Oparara Arch, a double rock arch over 40 meters high, probably formed by a collapsed cave. Difficult to photograph, at some point this rock bridge appeared in the forest above the trees. A breathtaking sight! Also very beautiful, although not so spectacular, is the Moria Gate Arch. This is a cave through which a raging river flows. Finally, we took a detour to Mirror Tarn, a small, crystal-clear, and peaceful lake that beautifully reflects the surroundings.

So we had a great day up in the solitude in the north of the South Island with a nice combination of motorcycle riding and hiking, and even without rain!