Total Nights and Distance Travelled on Tour to Date = 72 Nights & 3301 Kms
The little hamlet of Karamea may not have many shops, but it has a school, a swimming pool, police station, library, volunteer run fire station, museum, a couple of churches, and most importantly in this “away from it all” place, a Info Centre which also dispenses petrol and diesel. It seems that most of the necessities of life are catered for; Oh except there is no cell phone coverage from any provider. Situated between the Tasman Sea and the Kahurangi National Park, the scenery could only be stunning at this northernmost settlement on the West Coast.
The Karamea River runs down from the Gorge to disperse through the tidal lagoon estuary, and we took ourselves off here on a gentle Sunday afternoon walk. Oyster catchers and terns were busy on the sandy shore, and a black backed gull rested on a huge log stuck fast in the sand.
A herd of young heifers took quite an interest in us as we walked back along side their paddock - the Jersey heifers in particular have such big beautiful brown eyes.
After the devastating 1929 Murchison Earthquake tons of rock slipped into the Karamea River raising the riverbed by several feet, flooding low lying areas and closing the access road. Flood protection was put in place with a railway line constructed across the Oparara Swamp. Steam locos carrying side and end “tipping wagons” dumped rocks to form the flood protection. This remaining tipping wagon stands to honour the men who battled the power of the river and help save the townships of Karamea and Market Cross.
Driving up Umere Road we came across the site of the delightfully named former “Land of Promise” school, which ran from 1890 to 1926. It’s easy to imagine just how hopeful the early families were when they settled in this area to farm and raise their families.
We came across more cattle to admire, and this time it was several of the shaggy coated Highland Cattle. This big fellow looks rather handsome, don’t you think?
Back at our campsite we settled down for 4zees in the sunshine. This is our last night in Karamea, and we have really enjoyed our time here. You can be sure we will be back one day.
Romany Rambler: Travelled 23,493Km; 417 Total Nights
No comments:
Post a Comment