New Zealand Walk: Rambling a region ruled by

Rambling a region ruled by rivers

It is a little-known fact that although the Waikato is the longest river in New Zealand (425 km), and the Clutha is the largest (mean annual discharge 650 cubic metres per second), it is the Buller River which has a greater flood torrent than any other river in the By country, along with Phillip Donnellthe third-highest biomass of trout.

It was named by intrepid explorers Brunner, Fox and Heaphy after Charles Buller MP, associate of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, and a director of the New Zealand Company. The Maori name is Kawatiri (“deep and swift”).

The Buller is the major river of the west coast of the South Island, its main stream emerging from Lake Rotoiti then flowing in an irregular but generally westward direction to enter the Tasman Sea at Westport. It covers a distance of 170 km, almost half of its total length through a gorge bearing its name, one of the most impressive scenic drives you can find, following the river’s winding and sometimes turbulent course through densely forested slopes rising massively on either side.

In 1963, Mona Anderson wrote A River Rules My Life – an account of her life at Mt Algidus, a high-country sheep station in Canterbury. The river was the unpredictable Wilberforce, a braided river with occasional high flows. The book was very popular. The title could justifiably be applied to the Buller by longstanding locals. When the river flexes its muscles it sends a shudder of fear all the way down to the sea.

Along the lower Buller, the locals say that the river is like a neighbour who

Right: The famoius Ballroom Overhang on the West Coast.

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Rambling a region ruled by rivers

gets drunk and violent. We may build roads and bridges and overflows and stop banks, they say; we may pretend that we’re in control, but the river always has the last word.

Westport is particularly vulnerable to flooding, as two major incidents during 2022 attest. Homes were inundated with water and mud; infrastructure, roads and water supplies wiped out; and communities completely cut off. Residents of Greymouth might use the same appellation to describe their experience with the Grey River.

Rivers are arguably the dominant geo-

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graphical feature of the Buller Region, which stretches from the Tasman Mountains in the north, and Spenser Mountains in the east, down the Karamea Bight to the southern reaches of the Inangahua district.

Multiple rivers flow from the Main Divide to the west coast through this region, from the Heaphy, Kohaihai, Oparara and Karamea rivers in the north, to the Little Wanganui, Mokihinui, Ngakawau and Nile in the centre, and the Buller, Totara, Pororari and Grey in the south. Further inland, the Inangahua, Aharua, Otututu (Rough) and Arnold add to the fluvial features.

It is therefore hardly surprising that many of the best walks in Buller are found along its watery thoroughfares. This is particularly true in Paparoa National Park. There is perhaps no more picturesque amble than the Pororari - Punakaiki Loop (four to five hours) and no more sobering one than to Cave Creek, scene of the 1995 tragedy when 14 died. Above: left Under the Ballrom Overhang. Above right: On the Cape Foulwind Walkway. Middle right: At the Cave Creek Memorial site. Below right: Lake Daniells. Opposite page below left: On the Nikau Walk.

Rambling a region ruled by rivers

A walk along the Nile River reveals buttress-like cliffs jutting skywards like the prows of large ships. But the most spectacular option is a visit to the aweinspiring Ballroom Overhang via the Fox River (four to five hours), a huge halfdome cut into the soft limestone, under which you could sleep an army.

Elsewhere, the Oparara has carved its magnificent arches, notably Moria Gate; the true-to-its -name Charming Creek is spliced by Mangatini Falls; the Otututu beckons you to beautiful Lake Daniells; the Maruia whispers the gruesome past of Cannibal Gorge; the Nina plunges through breath-taking turquoise gorges; the Snowy’s sloping battery testifies to the gold-mining history at Waiuta; and the Grey’s sombre hue is akin to the coal gouged from along its banks.

The walking opportunities are numerous, enticing and superlative value-foreffort.

Every river, of course, eventually reaches the ocean. The rugged and wild coastline of this region is a second source of excellent short permabulations. The unique pancake rocks at Punakaiki are perhaps the most famous, but just a few kilometres away you will also enjoy the lovely Truman Track.

Heading north, it’s worthwhile to call in at the quaint Constant/Joyce/Doctor Bays near Charleston. Don’t miss the Cape Foulwind Walkway either, complete with seal colony.

From Greymouth, head for Point Elizabeth for great vistas of surging surf and stunning sub-tropical forest. It’s halcyon and heady stuff.

No review of this region, however, would be complete without reference to Denniston. A half-day on this uplifted plateau is a “must-do” in any walking itinerary, traversing the same tracks Above: On the Pororari Track, Paparoa. Below left: On the Denniston Incline. Below right: Still waters of the Oparara River. Bottom right: The remains of the Banbury Arch, Denniston.

that residents and miners used over a hundred years ago in the coal mining township.

Notable among them is the Brakehead Loop, which leads to a viewpoint at the top of the famous Denniston Incline, past Denniston’s first settlement ‘The Camp’ and on to the Banbury Arch (a drystone arch).

It returns via the historic mine workshop site. You can see many relics from Denniston’s past on this walk. It is amazing and inspiring that the settlers carved out an existence in such a bleak and inhospitable environment.

Andy Warhol reckoned that “Land really is the best art” and Pythagoras advised others to “Leave the road, take the trails.” Footsteps Walking Club of Aotearoa New Zealand is like any other walking club, but offers inexpensive week-long trips in twenty regions throughout the motu.

Many pundits have already found a Footsteps excursion to be an ideal way to tackle the best walks in an area they have perhaps never got to before.

You are warmly invited to come to Buller 26 March – 1 April, 2023. For information please contact Footsteps: footstepsanz@gmail.com; 021 172 3244, or visit their website www.footstepswalkingclub.com. Above top: Two swimmers in the waters at the Coal Creek Falls. Above: The brakehead at the Denniston mine.

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