MUST DO: THE ŌPĀRARA ARCH
Every step on the short walk to the Ōpārara Arch is magnificent, so by the time the arch comes into sight, it seems fair to assume that all astonished breaths will have been taken. Not true. This towering limestone formation will always steal just one more gasp. There’s a shiver of magic in this remote part of the country and photos, frustratingly, do not do it justice.
The Ōpārara Basin is an isolated (almost untouched) area of the Kahurangi National Park. The forested land consists of 350-million-year-old granite, covered in limestone and mudstone, which time has shaped into staggering formations of caves and arches. The area is home to many native species, including the rare shorttailed bat, the giant land snail, and it is a sanctuary for great spotted kiwi.
There are two arches accessible from the lower Ōpārara car park; the 43-metre-high Ōpārara Arch (a walk of one kilometre each way), said to be the largest limestone arch in Australasia, and Moira Gate (a 1.2 kilometre, or a four-kilometre loop walk to Mirror Tarn). Moira is the smaller of the two at 19 metres but no less picturesque. Despite the river’s cola colour, the water is crystal clear as it wanders through the cave.
The water of Mirror Tarn, surrounded by thick native bush, is so still it’s hard to see where bush ends, and reflection begins. It’s 600 metres from the parking area (drive over the bridge and turn right). The sandflies can nip through jeans, socks and jackets so be warned as they will make a meal of walkers stunned into immobility at the view. There is an upper car park 2.5 kilometres further along the road where a short walk leads to the family-friendly Crazy Paving and
Box Canyon Caves. The “crazy paving” is the result of thousands of years of dried mud deposits; this is a happy home for spiders and wētā, so take a torch to keep one eye on their movements. The rock-hard walls of Box Canyon are just as intriguing with nooks and crannies to explore — shuffle along narrow sections to discover shells on the cave floor. Don’t forget a torch but do turn it off occasionally to coax a small beam from the resident glow-worms.