WONDERS OF THE ŌPĀRARA BASIN

Beyond Westport and Karamea, tucked away in Kahurangi National Park in the secluded northern corner of the West Coast, the Ōpārara Basin has a special magic, born of millions years of undisturbed isolation.

Step right off the beaten track and experience a Tolkienesque world of grand limestone arches, deep underground caves, crystal clear streams and luxuriant rainforest. Pristine, breathtaking, nature at its most awe-inspiring.  

ŌPĀRARA ARCHES

Find your way into pure wilderness. Hidden in the forests of Kahurangi National Park, the Ōpārara Valley is a lost world of magnificent limestone formations and vast networks of incredible underground caverns.    

Explore this beautiful landscape on two short walks leading through the lush forested valley floor, across streams stained with forest tannins to the banks of the Ōpārara river and the impressive limestone arches — natural sculptures, etched by water and time.   

Follow two easy trails to discover:

• Ōpārara Arch — a well formed track (2 km / 50 min return) leads to the southern hemisphere’s largest natural rock arch.
• Moria Gate Arch — a gentle walk (4 km / 1.5 hr loop) to the picturesque Moria Gate Arch and the Mirror Tarn.

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HONEYCOMB HILL CAVES

A guided tour into Honeycomb Hill — a 13 km cave system where prehistoric creatures once roamed — offers a thrilling walk back into prehistory. 

This extraordinary underworld lay undisturbed for millennia until cavers rediscovered the complex honeycomb of limestone passages and caverns, and the remains of nine species of extinct giant birds (including the moa and hokioi or Haast’s eagle — the largest, most varied collection of sub fossil bird bones ever found in New Zealand.

Access to the Honeycomb Caves is with The Oparara Experience, booked at the Karamea Information Centre. These 4WD experiences include glowworm caverns and a rainforest walk. Suitable for anyone of moderate fitness, includes some easy scrambling over rocks.

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ŌPĀRARA VALLEY TRACK

The Ōpārara Valley Track is a day walk (14 km, 5 hr one-way) following the Ōpārara River through an ancient rainforest valley.  

This route links with the Fenian Track heritage gold mining trail, and includes some challenging hills. A shorter round-trip option is to walk to the Sunshine Flat Shelter, and return from there (3 hr return).

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GETTING TO THE ŌPĀRARA BASIN

Karamea is a 90-minute drive north from Westport featuring spectacular coastal scenery, small friendly towns, and the impressive Karamea Bluff. It’s an easy drive on sealed surfaces. 

The Ōpārara Basin — and the entrance to the Ōpārara Arches — is another 23 km / 30 minutes’ drive on a gravel road north of Karamea.

Access to Ōpārara Arches is from the car park at the end of McCallum’s Mill Road. A height restriction on the gravel road may prevent campervan or motorhome access.

Pack flat walking shoes, lunch and a torch. There are no shops nearby.