National Park after National Park 😍

June 23, 2025

We had two nights at Kohaihai campsite so we could spend a full day exploring the Oparara Valley. We arrived just as the sun was setting so enjoyed a stroll along the beach.

The Oparara Valley is in Kahurangi National Park and contains caves, arches, and other rock formations, so we thought it was definitely worth going to have a look around. It's a little off the beaten track on a steep windy gravel track, so we were hoping to be impressed. We started with the caves, but found one was currently closed to help a rare species of spider to recover (in a chat with a Ranger later we found out the spiders were doing a lot better!). So we entered Box Canyon cave which was huge, and just went on and on. We had a look for spiders, and saw plenty of webs, but none of the eight legged creatures.

Back out in the open we did the walk to the Oparara arch, which again was huge. Created in the eroding limestone it is reputed to be the largest one in Australasia. I couldn't get a picture to show the scale of it but you can go down to the river which runs through it and look around, very cool! We then did a longer loop to Moria Gate arch which was similar and also very cool.

We'd been blessed with some gorgeous sunshine so headed back to camp with time to sit in the sun on the beach. You can tell by Matt's coat that even though the sun was shining, it wasn't necessarily warm.

A bit of a drive the next day took us to Nelson Lakes National Park, and we spent the night next to Lake Rotoiti. It had been another glorious day and the lake looked beautiful. We woke to rain though, so had very different but still beautiful views the next morning.

Abel Tasman National Park has been on our must do list since arriving so we booked 3 nights at Totaranui campsite which sits on the fantastic coastline. Another drive on a long, windy, gravel track and we arrived again to the sun setting on a beautiful beach.

There's a long multiday walk which follows the entire coast of the National park, so we spent a day going north then back on ourselves and the next going south and returning. I don't know what we'd done to deserve the amazing weather but the sun just kept shining giving us the bluest skies and seas.

The campsite was full of weka and pūkeko, two native birds that we enjoy seeing. Every morning when you emerged from the van a good few of them would come running over on the hunt for some dropped crumbs. They also kept calling very loudly throughout the night, so we didn't get as much sleep as we planned at Totaranui. We did wake one morning to a Tui sat in a tree nearby, a bird we were yet to tick off, so the birdlife was all forgiven.

We were up and out early the next morning to head back into Kahurangi National Park. With an aim to potentially try and spot another kiwi, we'd booked night in a hut on the Heaphy Track, another multi-day walk which actually ends at Kohaihai campsite where we'd spent some nights previously. A bit of research showed that the great spotted kiwi were sometimes seen on the track and around the huts. So with our charity shop sleeping bags in our packs, we set off to do the first section, spend the night then head back.

The weather still being on our side meant it was a splendid day for a long walk, even if it was all uphill. We arrived with time to have tea and chat to our bunkmates, one of which was an american professor of tree grown fruit, in New Zealand for a conference. When darkness fell we headed out with our red lights again slowly scanning the undergrowth but no kiwis were spotted. We heard plenty though, their calls echoing through the darkness, even when we were back in the hut, tucked up in our sleeping bags, you could hear them calling away outside. We weren't disappointed, it was still a pretty awesome experience.