Oparara Valley

 

Moss World

 

reflections amidst the moss

Me at the Oparara Arch

me in a side tunnel in Box Canyon Cave - it was pitch dark but this is what the flash on Malcolm's camera revealed

Nikaus at the start of the Heaphy

 

South Island Robin

Malcolm near the start of the Heaphy Track

Today we went to Moss World.  We freedom camped for 2 nights at the ruins of McCallum's Mill on McCallum's Mill Road which leads inland, north of Karamea.  16 kms further on there are some walks in the ferny forest.  The big trees are totally covered in moss, there is moss all over the vines that grow on the big trees, there is moss on the stumps of trees, the rocks and cliffs, everything!  I think if you spent too long taking a photo the spores would take hold on you!  Anyway we went to look at the Oparara Arch, the Southern Hemisphere's biggest rock arch (43m high, 50m wide, 219m across) because we forgot we'd been there before!  This time we had torches and went right through it, looking at the stalactites and stalagmites. 

Then we went further up the road to 2 caves, the Box Canyon and the Crazy Paving caves.  The crazy paving is quite low with a floor made up mud deposits that have dried into large slabs (you just walk up the middle on a walkway).  saw some wetas but just little ones!  Box Canyon Cave is much bigger and you go down a staircase to get inside.  It is big and dark with mazy side tunnels.  Malcolm had a headlight and torch so could illuminate things quite well, I had a feebler torch.  When we turned them off it was pitch black.  Very silent and dusty, you could see the dust rising in the torch beams.

We had lunch in Karamea at the last Resort (good name!) then drove as far north as you can go, Kohaihai at the start of the Heaphy Track.  We walked a little of the Heaphy - well I admit a very little -  just 1/2hr in to Scott's Lookout and a 40 min loop among Nikau and Rata (just starting to flower red).