Karamea

• What to Do Here
• Getting Here
• About Karamea
  
• Interactive Map

What to Do in Karamea

• Relax and unwind
  Karamea's subtropical microclimate makes it the perfect place to relax in the lush green growth and sunshine. The Rough Guide to New Zealand says Karamea "is one of those places where doing nothing just seems right.", and Rongo Backpacker's aim is to make this easy!
• Visit the Oparara Basin
  Home to the Honeycomb Hill Caves, a treasure trove of remains of extinct species such as moa. There are also several other caves with impressive rock formations, and three huge bush-clad limestone arches which span the Oparara River, one for over 200m. Also the spectacular 'mirror tarn'.
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• See the nikau palm Forests at Kohaihai
  The start of the Heaphy Track is also the start of several short walks through pristine coastal palm forest. The Heaphy coast is the most significant area of nikau forest left in NZ, and represents it's natural stronghold. On a sunny day it is difficult not to believe you are on a tropical island, even in mid-winter.
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• Go tramping/hiking in Kahurangi National Park
  Kahurangi N.P. is crossed by a network of huts and tramping trails. The best known routes are the Heaphy, Wangapeka, and Leslie-Karamea tracks, however there are many other routes and day tramps. Recover with a hot firebath under the stars at Rongo.
  More Info:
  Tramping >>
  Short Walks >>
  
• Raft or Kayak the Karamea River
  Rated one of the top 10 multi-day rafting rivers in the world by Outdoor Magazine. The Karamea river is a big volume river with many grade five rapids. Several commercial operators offer heli-rafting trips of 1-3 days.
  More info:
  Ultimate Descents
  Eco Rafting
  Rivers Wild
  
• Go fishing and catch a huge trout
  The Karamea river and it's tributaries are home to truly world class wilderness trout fishing.
  More info:
  Outdoors New Zealand Article (with photos)
  NZ fishing.com on the Karamea River
  NZ Fishing.com Karamea River topo map
  
• Go to the beach
  Karamea has a long, sandy, unpolluted beach. Surfing can be good (though swimming is very dangerous), and there are several good places to catch snapper in summer.
  
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Info about Karamea:

• Karamea has the warmest climate of any settlement on the South Island, with short, almost frost free winters and warm summers. Sunshine hours are high on the coastal plain but there is plenty of rain in the hills to keep things green. Many sub-tropical plants and fruits can be grown outdoors here without protection, such as passion fruit, tamarillos, citrus fruit and bananas.
• Karamea is sealed off from the rest of NZ by native bush-clad mountains and Kahurangi National Park on three sides, and the wild Tasman sea on the other. To come here by any route is a real adventure, retreading the footsteps of the pioneers who settled the area. It is difficult to get more off the beaten track in NZ without putting on boots or picking up a paddle.
• Karamea was one of the last areas to be settled on the West Coast by Europeans, who came to farm, to log timber, and to prospect for gold. Some success was found in all of these areas, along with a large flax-milling industry. However the 1929 Murchison Earthquake crippled the town - it was cut off by road for nearly three years and the once busy harbour silted up. Logging continued until the 1980s, and the town's employment is now mainly in dairying, tourism and arts + crafts.
  
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Getting Here

Click Here for information about getting to Karamea and things worth seeing on the way (with map)

Interactive Map

Click Here to access our interactive map (based on Google Maps, opens in new window). Click on the pins to see a description of the location. The map can take a little while to load, especially on slower connections.

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