Buller

Every step on the short walk to the Ōpārara Arch is magnificent, so it is fair to think that all breaths have been taken by the time the structure comes into sight. Not true. This towering limestone formation will always steal just one more gasp. There’s a shiver of magic in this achingly remote part of the country and photos, frustratingly, do not do it justice.

The Ōpārara Basin is an isolated, almost untouched area of the Kahurangi National Park, and its glorious forest is a mix of beech and podocarp with thick mosses and ferns underfoot. The land is a combination of 350-million-year- old granite, covered in limestone and mudstone, which the gentle hands of time have shaped into staggering formations of caves and arches. And the area is home to many native species, including the rare short-tailed bat and giant land snails, plus it’s a sanctuary for great spotted kiwi.

There are two arches accessible from the lower Ōpārara car park — the 43-metre-high Ōpārara (a walk of one kilometre each way), which is said to be the largest limestone arch in Australasia, and Moira Gate (1.2 kilometres, or a four-kilometre loop walk to Mirror Tarn). Moira is the smaller of the two at 19 metres but no less picturesque. Despite the river’s tannic cola colour, the water is crystal clear as it wanders through the cave. There’s a short detour to climb down and follow its path. Look up to spy stalactites and look down to watch for whio — native and endangered blue duck.