Exploring the upper west coast
A couple of years ago we bought a caravan and have been working on making the most of living in this gorgeous country since then.
This summer we explored the upper West coast. Stunning! Honestly the best word for it. We were lucky enough to have possibly the best weather in the country too. The only downside is the sandflies! Definitely take bug spray!
First stop was Lyell. An old gold mining area and one end of the Old Ghost Road. With the Old Ghost Road being 85km long we obviously couldn’t walk the whole thing in the two nights we had there, but we did get to do a beautiful loop and saw some old mining equipment.
After that we headed to Kohaihai, as far north as you can go on the West Coast before starting the Heaphy track. I would have loved to stay there longer but the DOC site there has a maximum 2 night limit in one go. Gorgeous part of the country. When we arrived the river was calm, people were swimming and paddle boarding and it was beautiful, but overnight the rain hit and the river got really high and fast. Later in the afternoon the rain eased enough that we got out for a walk. The nikau walk is a stunner! One of my must see sights, the Oparara basin, was unfortunately closed the day we tried to see it. We think that due to the rains a tree had fallen over the access road. So instead we wandered up the Fenian track, but with the rain and not being prepared for the caves it was just a wander. A wet wander.
From there south to Mokihinui, or Gentle Annies Campsite. Definitely a great family destination (and somewhere to actually have a warm shower, our first on the trip). Benny loved having some other kids to play with, and the fires on the beach at sunset were an absolute highlight. We explored the Mangatini waterfalls track, with it’s mining and logging relics. It was a gorgeous track, but ended up taking us about 6 hours to walk there and back, possibly a little too long, especially for the one with little legs in our group.
We carried on further south to Punakaiki. The Punakaiki beach camp was a lovely spot to base our time there. The pancake rocks, the caves, and the stunning walks. Truman track was awesome. Not a long walk, but through beautiful bush, and a great beach at the end of it. Cave creek was probably one of my favourite destinations of the whole trip, and definitely in my top 10 in New Zealand. The walk there was unremarkable but the destination absolutely made up for it! The river next to the campsite is another where there was paddle boarding to be done. And i have to admit after this trip, getting some for ourselves moved up my priority list, and we now have a couple for the coming summer trip!
My bestie Grace had been with us since our second night away and it was here we parted ways. Her back to Christchurch, and we carried on to Hokitika. From here we took stock of our trip so far and reassessed what we were doing with the rest of our trip. I had originally planned to keep heading south to Haast, then back home through Wanaka and Tekapo. But the trip so far had been really busy. Gorgeous, but busy. Not a lot of chill out time, and not enough play time for Benny. Also having missed the Oparara basin I was tempted to head back north, tick that one off then take some time to move a bit slower. In the end that is what we decided to do, and save the southern part of the west coast for another trip.
So after checking out the Hokitika gorge (oh my goodness the water is sooo blue!), doing some greenstone hunting (we found some green stones, but no idea if they’re actually greenstone) and of course having fish and chips on the beach, we headed back up to Kohaihai. Another two nights there where we actually got to visit the Oparara basin. Definitely a life goal unlocked! Incredible place and I like to think they’re incredible photos.
From there to Carters Beach where there was no goal except to chill out (and maybe have a shower and do a couple of loads of washing!).
We stopped for a couple of nights in Hanmer on the way home. The freedom camp there is a fabulous spot and the hot pools are always a great day out.
Epic trip. So many highlights. And places to go back to and hang out some more. Loved it!! And I have to say, as much as I love the photos, it’s the sort of trip that makes me want to be an even better photographer. So i’m working on upskilling my editing and changing up my shooting. I’m already pretty happy with the changes i’ve made from what I’ve learned, but if anyone has any tips I’d love to know more!
