Getting to Karamea

Many people arrive in Karamea on foot via the Heaphy or Wangapeka tracks, but by road Karamea is about 1.5 hours north from Westport, which has a regional airport. There are several worthwhile, signposted attractions en route:

• Denniston Plateau
  Drive or hike up straight up from the sea to 600m. See the spectacular inclined railway dropping down to the coast, tour old mine workings and ghost towns, and gain access to several tramping and walking tracks. More info
• Granity
  This pleasant seaside village has a foot in coal mining but now is home to several cafes and shops. Neighbouring Ngakawau is the start of the Charming Creek Walkway,
  A 5.5km (one way) track along an historic mining tramway which traverses a gorge home to an endemic species of plant found nowhere else on earth. More info (DOC site)
• Karamea Bluff
  At the Mokihinui River the road leaves the coastal plains and climbs up and accross the Karamea Bluff Ecological Area, an area of outstanding natural and scenic beauty containing some of the most spectacular and varied old-growth rainforest it is possible to see from a car window in NZ.
  
• Lake Hanlon
  A, small, picturesque lake a short stroll from the road, completely enclosed by virgin rainforest.
  
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