Just north of Karamea, on the northern extremity of the South Island's west coast highway, the magnificent Oparara river basin offers explorers a 'lost world' experience. The basin is one of the finest features of the Kahurangi National Park. For a million years the Oparara river system has been sculpting the 35 million-year-old limestone into an intriguing complex of caves, arches and channels.
The tall forest contains native beech and rimu, and is thickly carpeted with mosses and ferns that squeeze their root systems through cracks in the limestone to gain a hold. Unique ferns and algae live around the arches and cave entrances. Birds, insects and fish flourish in the untouched environment, which is home to the rare short-tailed bat, the giant land snail, the cave spider and blue duck.
A number of walking tracks, ranging in length from ten minutes to one hour, lead to fascinating limestone river arches, spectacular caves and a beautifully reflective mountain pool. The largest of 3 arches, the Oparara Arch, is 219 metres long with sides 79 metres apart and a roof 43 metres above the river that carved it. The popular Box Canyon and Crazy Paving Caves feature delicate limestone formations that can take thousands of years to grow one centimetre. Add in the glow worms in the caves and it's a full day of very unique land forms!
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