Wednesday Jan 20, 2010 – Trip North from Westport

We set of early so we could see some things before the rains came. It was calling for rain by noon. The trip north was a beautiful trip. Some time inland and some time by the ocean. We stopped at Ngakwau Beach to have a look around. The beach here was rocky. Unlike Carters Beach just south west of Westport, which is very sandy. Just north was another community called Hector. It was named for the man who discovered dolphins that also bear his name. These dolphins look like Orcas just smaller. There is a nice sculpture of the hector dolphins.

The Karamea Bluffs cause the road to head inland also the road gets twisty as we make our way up and over the bluffs. Just before going inland we stopped and did the Chasm Creek walkway. It was such a flat gentle walk. We figured out that it was an abandoned railway track. It was a beautiful serene walk through the bush. There was a tunnel and cut out areas to walk through. There was even a weeping wall. As we were the only people there it was very quiet. Still no rain.

At Karamea we stopped at the info centre. We found out about The Arches. They are marble formations that were left after the limestone around them was worn away. There are also limestone caves that are in a restricted are. You can see them with guided tours. Having not brought our lunch, we had to eat at a cafe. I ordered a hamburger. This was no ordinary burger. It was the size of a 6 inch pizza. Off we set for the arches. The only problem is getting to the area. It is 16km over a narrow gravel road. The road is rough with lots of washboard sections, big potholes and one car width sections. It was an adventure.

We set off to on the Moria Gate Arch track first. The walk was to take 20 minutes. We took a little longer. We came upon a Y in the road. One sign said continue on the Moria track, the other Moria Gate Arch entrance was another 10 min walk. We did not know that we had to enter a cave. It was very slippery and very uneven. I tried entering the cave but could not. Charles did get in and took some great pictures. Apparently, the cave was the bottom of the arch. After Charles came out and I finished offering my blood to feed the sand flies, we head further up the track to the lookout point. I was so glad to see the arch. I was so upset at the cave because I thought I had walked all this way and could not see the prize. There was a light misty rain on our way back up the track. It felt so good as we were very warm. Charles decide to go and see the Oparara Arch. It was a shorter walk but I just couldn't do it. I stayed behind and again did a blood offering to the sand flies. The Oparara Arch is the bigger of the two. Charles thought the Moria Arch was nicer. All in all a very nice time. I am so glad that I am able to do these walks. They are also getting easier. Still no rain of any amount.

Off back to Westport. We thought we would run into lots of rain on the way but it turned out that most of the rain was in the mountains. There was some rain. It turned out that Westport had not had any rain yet. It did finally rained in the evening.