December the 18th 2015.

Well, an interesting week on the Coast with the Buller Mayor Gary Howard and his Council looking at the opportunities a road linking Nelson and would bring to Buller and the Coast. Join me as we take a virtual trip on the road when completed from Nelson to Karamea then down the Coast via Karamea, , , Millerton, Ngakawau, Hector,, Denniston, , Westport and back to Nelson . Every one of these towns with their communities will be able to benefit from life after Coal in “The Howard Plan”. My name is Bruce Smith. I am a 4th generation Coaster and I am your guide. Sit back as we consider the future of eleven towns, eleven communities and every one with the projected increase in numbers will maintain and improve their respective towns and attractions.

We start in Nelson which is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson region. Established in 1841, it is the second-oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the , and was proclaimed a city by royal charter in 1858.The area boosts a population of approx. 100,000.

Nelson is full of Coasters and they are a very influential bunch. They often get over 200 at their meetings are well organised and a great group of people.

Tapawera will become another gateway to the :

When explorers travelling New Zealand hear the name Tapawera, the first image to enter their mind will invariably be that of a farming town, that acts as the gateway to the Kahurangi National Park. Indeed, the road to Karamea, glides gracefully through the elegant scenery to the West Coast, winding through magnificent mountainscapes, exquisite vistas and rushing streams, before slowing to a pleasing halt in the Family Holiday capital of New Zealand.

The new road is like most other roads offering good scenery but not much different to each of our main Highways. We head off and travel about an hour and a half and arrive in Karamea.

The name Karamea is Maori - despite local jokes suggesting it was named by an Italian for his love - and is thought to either mean "red ochre" or be a corruption of Kakarataramea, "the smell of speargrass leaves". The large bay formed by the curve of coastline north for 100 kilometres (62 mi) from is called Karamea Bight.

The runs through the area, and the Arches, large natural river tunnels, are a well-known tourist destination, though tourism in the area is limited compared to most other parts of New Zealand. The flows into the sea just south of the main township, and there is a large lagoon which completely clears of water at low tide, and completely fills with water at high tide.

We arrive just before midday and book into our accommodation at the Last Resort. It’s an iconic place and a must to stay and eat. Ed and Tarn are earning a huge reputation for service. It’s in the heart of the village and the Last Resort has a tropical atmosphere and a warm West Coast feel about it. When we looked around it had a range of room types, cafe, and restaurant and bar facilities on site.

This afternoon we head for the Opara caves:

About 45 minutes’ drive (25 km) north of Karamea, the Oparara Basin boasts impressive limestone formations and is surrounded by truly magnificent bush, and is home to the Powelliphanta – carnivorous snails which are up to 70mm across. Sturdy footwear is recommended for exploring this wonderland. Access to the Basin is via a gravel road.

We decided to take our time going in as it’s an hour and very windy, no good at all for camper vans which is why the Visitor information centre does guided tours. We then decided to walk to the Poria Gate on the loop track. Moria Gate 1 hour 30 mins round trip) 4.1 km An easy-access easy-grade loop track linking these 2 attractions. We explored down under the Arch, then continued on over the top of Moria Gate ( counting the paving stones, where moa have obviously been before us!) and looped around the terrace to come back out at the carpark via Mirror Tarn.

After a day of surprises and stunning scenery we head back to Karamea.

We arrive back at the Last Resort and tidy up for the evening meal which was outstanding.

After a good night’s sleep on the very best of beds, we have breakfast, book out and head across the Karamea Bluff, destination Seddonville.

It’s a township on river flats in the lower reaches of the Mōkihinui River, 50 km north-east of Westport. It was named after Premier Richard Seddon, who visited the area in 1893. New Zealand’s first state coal mine was opened at Seddonville in 1903, but closed in 1914 because of mining difficulties.

Coal from Seddonville was traditionally hard to sell because of its exceptionally high sulphur content (generally 5–6% and sometimes more). Brimstone, the pungent smell of sulphurous coal burning, is traditionally associated with hell. In the late 20th century Seddonville coal was banned from most urban areas, and one of the few places where it was used was the Karamea dairy factory. A number of private mines worked coal during the 20th century, but mining has now ceased and its future is in tourism.

We book into the Seddonville Hotel and we are surrounded by untouched lush native bush, rugged mountains and beautiful rivers. The next morning we awake to the morning chorus of our native birds and maybe even echoes of days gone by - of gold rushes, sawmills, coal mining and bushrail locos… time has stood still - it has - and we loved it.

Today our first trip is to the Chasm Creek Walkway:

Just 5 minutes from the hotel taking you over little walking bridges and through the old 50 metre-long railway tunnel where at night the glow worms make a spectacular display. It is a beautiful walkway to do during the day and we see the moss covered rock walls, views of the river, and the beach where the film the Lost World was filmed

After lunch we walk the Charming Creek Walkway;

To really appreciate this beautiful walkway allow about 5 hours. Start from the old Charming Creek coal mine (now closed) on a gentle gradient down to Ngakawau.

The rail line was put in to take coal and timber out of the area. It meanders over bridges, through tunnels, around old workings and machinery, with amazing views of the Ngakawau Gorge flora and fauna and the stunning Mangatini Falls.

It’s a bit sad to leave Graeme and the Seddonville Hotel and realised we could have stayed 3 days not 1. There is just so much to see in this area.

We call into the Mokihinui Domain for a cuppa. Joan tells us that the River's headwaters are located in the Glasgow Range and its mouth is on the Tasman Sea. There is little human habitation near the river: the localities of Mokihinui and Summerlea are near the river's mouth, Seddonville is a few kilometres up the river, and just prior to its terminus, State Highway 67 crosses the river outside Mokihinui. In the rugged back country behind Seddonville at the Mokihinui Forks, the river splits into two branches, north and south. The catchment of these two branches is a large inland basin of almost wholly unmodified forest

We nearly got away without seeing Basil Climo but as luck would have it he caught us. That was an hour of going back in time.

We then pack up and head for Hector and Ngakawau which are two lightly populated settlements located at the mouth of the Ngakawau River in the West Coast region of New Zealand. Both settlements are again situated on State Highway 67 between Westport and Karamea. These towns have the attractions to become important tourist towns as visitor numbers grow when the road opens.

Now we head to Granity and then Millerton. It’s a high-altitude settlement, 31 km north-east of Westport. Named after H. J. Miller, a director of the Dunedin- based Westport Coal Company, Millerton was opened as a company town for miners at the nearby Millerton Mine in 1896. Few miners still live in Millerton, but a small community survives. A community that will grow again after the road is completed. At 300 metres (just under 1,000 ft) above sea level virtually straight up, getting coal from the underground mountain mines to the railway was a challenge. But our early settlers were clever.

The Westport Coal Company built the Millerton Incline in 1891 and the Millerton Mine began production in 1896.

The Millerton Incline was a narrow gauge (2ft) alpine railway consisting of two parallel tracks on which the coal tubs ran from loading point to the Bins in Granity. They were hauled by wire rope….full down, and empty up. Remnants of tracks, trucks, bath house and other installations are still visible as you can see.

The Millerton Incline was in its day quite a feat of engineering and though smaller and less famous than the much higher and larger Denniston Incline, is well worth a look and we enjoyed every minute of our time.

Tonight we are staying at The old Slaughterhouse.

Its origins go back to Ireland in 1993. There Dave fell in love with the idea of hostels and lodges. Just before leaving Ireland to come back to New Zealand the idea of building and operating his own travellers’ lodge that is today known as ‘The Old Slaughterhouse’.

We wake early and have breakfast and then book out because today it’s off to Granity and then Denniston, another Coal town that has a future with Tourism.

First stop is Granity which is squeezed between the often-tempestuous Tasman Sea to the west and steep forested cloud-shrouded mountains to the immediate east, the town is the largest in this sparsely populated part of New Zealand. Long known as a coal-mining town, the population has declined as the industry has waned. Granity Museum was well worth a visit and it gave us a feel of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s in Granity and surrounds. The old coke ovens are close by and they were brilliant.

And then we drive to Waimangaroa and up the Hill to Denniston.

It’s a small, almost abandoned coal town, 27 km north-east of Westport. It was named after R. B. Denniston, manager of the first major mine to open in the 1870s and later a director of the Westport Coal Company. On a bare plateau at an altitude of 600 metres, Denniston was the bleakest of the coal mining towns, often shrouded in fog. Today it’s the home of New Zealands’ only underground Coal experience.

The nearby town of Burnetts Face was squashed into a narrow valley, close to the original coal discovery. Jenny Pattrick’s novel, The Denniston Rose (2003) gives a depressingly vivid picture of the lives of miners and their families.

Coal was transported from the plateau down to a branch railway line by the Denniston incline, a spectacular cable railway. Mining ceased in the 1990s, and only a few inhabitants remain. Part of the town is a historic reserve, with a museum and walking tracks around mining relics.

We take a 2 hour, fully guided adventure that will transport us back into Denniston of the 1880’s, a harsh world where coal production ruled.

The experience included a spectacular rail journey along the incredible Waimangaroa Gorge, stunning audio, visuals and ghostly holograms. We were challenged to see if we had the 'metal' to make it as a Denniston miner 130 years ago.

We drive back down the hill to Waimangaroa a small mining and milling town, 17 km north of Westport, at the foot of the winding road up to Denniston. It’s a town that is struggling to survive the current loss of coal mining.

The people are up to the challenge and you will be surprised how this small town will be invigorated by tourism when the numbers are there.

We arrive in Westport and drive past the South school and Buller High to remind me of my childhood days. They look the same, well to me anyway!

Then it’s down Palmerston Street for the compulsory street purve. It feels good and looks good, I will always miss the view of the foot hills so low towering over the town and a feature of its main street.

We book into the Westport Hotel, now renamed The Westport, and settle down for a chat with so many people I remember from the past. It was great. I remind myself why I took this virtual trip to the Kahurangi National Park’s Wangapeka Track which is to be studied for possible conversion to road. “The Howard Plan”

One of the items on the Council Meeting this week was a proposal to have a potential northern link road investigated. This investigation would require environmental assessment, cost/benefit analysis and community impact reports to be completed. The proposed road would be from near Karamea, through the Wangapeka to the Motueka Valley, south of Nelson. Buller Mayor, Garry Howard said the Buller District Council will give consideration to a background document on a potential Wangapeka road that would require environmental, social and cost benefit analysis before any informed position could be taken. Tasman Mayor, Richard Kempthorne has also announced that he fully supports the investigation of this proposal. “This could be part of a West Coast Regional Growth Study and Action Plan as recently announced by Minister of Economic Development, Hon Steven Joyce”, Comments Mayor Howard. The initiative could alleviate the district’s heavy reliance on mining where more than 600 jobs and $50 million in annual wages will be lost to the district in the two years to June 2016.

Well I have had a good look and I can see huge benefits for Buller and the whole West Coast from “The Howard Plan”

Tapawera, Karamea, Seddonville, Mokihinui, Millerton, Ngakawau, Hector, Granity ,Denniston, Waimangaroa and Westport will all be winners and while some will say it can’t be done, I suspect Gary Howard and his team of Councillors will just get out and do it. Then watch the nay Sayers go silent.

If the green movement wants to retain its credibility it will need to understand you cant just take, take, take, in some cases you have to give as well.

Today its back to Nelson as we complete the LOOP, that scenery in the Buller Gorge as beautiful as ever and ranks worldwide.

I hope you have enjoyed the trip and have a better understanding of what’s at stake.

It’s the future of eleven towns, eleven communities and every one with the projected increase in numbers will maintain and improve their respective towns and attractions.

This will take leadership which Buller has and a Government that recognises that the regions are very important to the future of New Zealand.

Thanks for sharing my story.

Bruce Smith for The Coasters Club.