Opurara Basin Caves are a highlight on this tour

A Guide's Perspective - Karamea & Wild West Coast Trails

I was lucky to be given the opportunity to guide MoaTours  Karamea & Wild West Coast Trails 7 day tour. With a merry band of travellers we set off on our adventure to explore the northern end of the South Island's West Coast. I'm Andrew Wells, and here is my perspective on this tour, from the point of view of the guide. 

Find out more about the Karamea & Wild West Coast Trails tour here.

A personal journey of discovery for the guide

I was very excited, and a little nervous, to guide this tour for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, family connections. Like many European New Zealanders I have family connections to the West Coast and thanks to my mother’s pre-internet genealogy research there was one family member I was particularly interested in on this trip. I've guided many quick trips through the Coast over the last few years, this time it was going to be a real treat having six nights to slow down, get off the beaten track, and dive much deeper into the stories and history of the area.

Secondly (and the reason I was a little nervous), all but one of the travellers on the trip would be New Zealanders discovering their own country. From talking to other MoaTours guides I knew that we would have people with their own experiences and connections to the area, something we don’t usually have when we’re guiding overseas visitors. On the advice of some of our most experienced guides, I dug deep into some stories of the Coast that I didn’t know much about - the “Great Journey” of Thomas Brunner and his guide Kehu, I read the "Denniston Rose" to learn about life on “the Hill” at Denniston and, of course, revisited "The Luminaries" which is set in and around Hokitika and many of the places we would be exploring.

 

So ended our wonderful Wild West Coast Trail.

For me, as the lucky guide, I’d just like to say how grateful we were for the clear skies clear but most of all thanks to our wonderful travellers, who made it all so special and were such a happy and positive bunch every single day.

He aha te mea nui o te Ao, he Tangata, he Tangata, he Tangata.

You can see more about the Karamea & Wild West Coast Trails 7 day tour here.

Tours you’ll love