The final stop on my campervan tour of the South Island was the small settlement of Okarito. Today this small, sleepy beachside hamlet is a pleasant contrast to the hustle and bustle of the more touristy glacier towns to the south. After finding a peaceful spot to spend the night at the community campground, I set off to explore the surrounding area.
Although today Okarito is a quiet little place, this part of the coast has been constantly occupied for centuries. Many iwi (Maori tribes) used this area for food gathering taking advantage of the estuaries and marshes to gather fish, eels and birds. More recently western settlers established a town here in 1865 which served as a base for miners working the nearby gold-bearing beaches. In it’s peak in 1866 Okarito was the third largest port on the West Coast behind Hokitika and Greymouth, something that is hard to imagine today.
From Okarito I took the bluff track along the coast towards Three-Mile Lagoon, the track was built in 1866 to provide better access to the gold fields further down the coast. Although the track was well-formed, it was hard to imagine how they were able to transport people and supplies regularly along the narrow and often steep track along the cliff edge.
The track ended at Three-Mile Lagoon, and as I looked out across the estuary, I noticed that there was something not quite right with the bridge. The top section of bridge wasn’t attached to the pilings that were poking out of the water. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that that Department of Conservation had built a new suspension bridge above the site of the old trestle bridge and so the bridge did not actually touch the rickety posts that were sticking out of the river.
I explored the area around the Three-Mile lagoon, looking for traces of the gold dredges and settlement that had once been here. Despite the dredging and mining activity here, there were no signs of the historical activity in the area. It seemed that even the birdlife that the area is famous for was in hiding and the entire area was very peaceful.
As I made my way back across the swing bridge to head back to Okarito, the clouds in the distance slowly started to lift and I was able to make out the faint shapes of the glaciers at Franz Josef and Fox in the distance.
I returned to Okarito and had a quick look at the beach before returning to my campervan for dinner. I debated heading out at night to try and catch a glimpse of the rare Okarito Brown Kiwis that live in the area. However the lure of my cosy bed and a warm cup of tea was too strong and I settled in for the night.
I was lucky enough to have yet another sunny day for the final leg of my journey back to Christchurch. There was a little early morning mist that was just starting to burn off of the lagoons around Okarito, which gave them quite a mysterious air.
Wanting to take advantage of the unusually clear West Coast weather, I made a final stop in Hokitika and enjoyed a morning coffee overlooking the ocean, a great ending to my tour around the South Island.