Andy could happily walk up giant mountains all day long and have a great time, I am however a quick wins type of girl so when DOC promised great views, beautiful river crossings and some gold mining history all wrapped up in an easy 3 hour walk, they had my attention.
After a quick coffee stop at 23 Grove Road I made my way up the Wakamarina Valley to make my gold mining fortune (or at least walk in the steps of those who did) Turning off at Canvastown you follow the Wakamarina River past several historic sites including the Deep Creek Cemetery, and memorials for the gold miners past. If I did this walk again I would pack a picnic lunch to have at Butchers Flat once I had finished the track – just remember your bug spray.
The first 1.5 kms of the walk follows a 4wd road to the start of the track. This is where you can choose to do the Doom Creek Loop (which I did) or the Wakamarina track/Devils Hut. The walk is very easy, mostly flat and follows the hillside through beech and regenerated native. You can sneak a glimpse of a pretty impressive waterfall before you reach your first river crossing however after backtracking a little I found there is no easily accessible way to see the full falls. Your first main river crossing is Doom Creek, the size of the boulders in the river are spectacular, and in summer the river was easy to cross with no wet feet. The second river you cross is Fosters Creek, again the crossing is easy and the river is stunning, In the heat of the sun I was tempted to dip my feet in.
After Fosters Creek you follow the side of the hill up and out of the valley, this part was quite hot on the day I walked, and unfortunately apart from the view across the valley you have walked the nicest part of the track. I did enjoy the company of a little robin for this part of the track. You cross Doom Creek again with a bridge this time before meeting the 4wd road and heading back to the car.
Note: I didn’t think Andy would let me fly solo on this one, and Wakamarina was just too cool for me to keep to myself so we went back again the following weekend. The photos were from two consecutive weekends.
Text by Tamzin – photos by Andy and Tamzin
Useful info:
When we went: Mid December
The weather was: Hot and Sunny
Walk time: 3 hours – loop track
How to get there: Drive from Nelson or Blenheim
Drive time: 1 hour from Blenheim.
Keep an eye out for: Huge bluffs and steep drops, gold mining history, native birds (riflemen, robins and fantails), deep blue/green pools in the rivers.
Leave a Reply