Walk Details
NZ Walking Routes > West Coast > Westport - Buller - Reefton > Oparara Basin walking tracks
Oparara Basin walking tracks
- Location
- An old forestry road provides access for walkers, cavers and other nature lovers to the Oparara Basin. The road branches inland approximately nine kilometres north of Karamea on the road to Kohaihai. It is a further 12 km to the arches car park and another three kilometres to the caves car park.
- Description
The Oparara Basin in one of the finest features of the Kahurangi National Park.For a million years the Oparara River system has been at work sculpting the 35 million-year-old limestone basin into an intriguing complex of caves, arches and channels.
K’ Road Track (27 km)
Officially opened in June 2003, ‘K’ Road affords walkers and mountain bikers the opportunity to explore approximately 27 km of old logging roads, constructed between the late 1960s and December 1986 when logging in the Oparara area came to an end. The return trip is approximately 27 kilometres long – it is graded as an Easy to Medium track. The K-Road is wide enough for both the keen tramper and the enthusiastic mountain biker, and features areas of cut-over bush, exotic plantations, and fast regenerating native species, with some water features and several stunning views.
Oparara Arch (40 min return)
From the first car park a well-formed track leads up the Oparara riverbank, through beech and podocarp forest and past limestone outcrops. The arch is 219 metres long with sides 79 metres apart and a roof 43 metres above the river that carved the impressive feature.
Moria Gate Arch (1 hr)
Smaller than the Oparara Arch, the Moria Gate Arch is very pretty and should not be missed. It is 19 metres high, 43 metres wide and fully deserving its ‘Lord of the Rings’ name.
- Level
- Medium
- Amenities
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- Birds
- Carpark
- Historical
- Mountain Biking / Biking
- Plant Life
- Tramping
- Source
- www.doc.govt.nz
- Discussion
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