We planned a weekend up in Reefton with my parents, and with Eric and my dad off hunting for trout in the local rivers, my mum and I decided to tackle a few of the local walks to investigate some of the mining relics in the area.
Our first stop was just outside Reefton, where a short dirt road off of the main highway took us to the Inangahua Suspension Bridge. Despite the impressive size of this structure, there is little information about the history of the bridge, however with the rich mining history in the area, no doubt it was used to access some of the mines. It does seem that not everyone was in favour of the bridge as I ran across a rather grumpy letter to the editor of the Inangahua Times back in May of 1877 when they were looking at making changes to the bridge.
After crossing high above the Inangahua River on the swing bridge, we found ourselves at the foot of a staircase in the forest, taking us up to the old water race.
We had picked this track in the hope that we would have a nice leisurely stroll through the forest alongside the benched water race. However, after following the open race for a little while, it split away from the track, going through a small tunnel to pass under a spur in the hillside.
Climbing the short flight of stairs over the water race tunnel, we quickly descended back alongside the disused water channel. However, after following the graded path for just a short distance, we found ourselves at the foot of yet another flight of stairs.
The original water race, which served some of the mines in the area, continued through the valley in a series of cuttings and tunnels. Although the water race has been disused for some time, it is hard to tell exactly in the damp forests of this part of New Zealand, where moss, lichen and other plants seem to rapidly grow over every available surface.
As the terrain became steeper, the water race crossed the numerous gullies in large metal pipes. The track however, continued to hug the hillside, with each twist and turn in the track bringing us to yet another set of steps and stairs.
We reached the trail junction at Deep Creek and continued a little further, finding a perfect little rocky beach beside the river for our lunch. After enjoying some time in the warm sunshine we made our way back to the track ready to tackle the hundreds of stairs between us and the end of the track.
Luckily, knowing that the track wasn’t the easy stroll along a benched water race, somehow made the return trip a little easier and we were able to appreciate the beautiful, lush forest around us.
We made good time back to the car and stopped at the river to take one last look at the bridge before heading back to Reefton for a well deserved treat at the tearooms there.