TUNNELS, CAVE WETA AND PLENTY OF GOLD MINING HISTORY
31 JANUARY 2024
A Huge Gold Mining History
The Woods Creek Track is a short 1.1km loop track, 30-minutes inland from Greymouth on the West Coast, which takes 45 minutes, but we took a lot longer as there were so many tunnels, nooks and crannies to explore. The track starts off flat and passes by stacked stones, which is really common in a lot of tracks on the West Coast and there is a huge gold mining history in the area. Another big clue of the gold mining history are the deep tail and water races along the track that were carved down into the rock, to carry water to and from the gold processing area. They are a few metres deep but don't worry, there was a fence along it to stop you from falling into the pits of hell!
One of our favourite places to explore in New Zealand are the West Coast rainforests, which are super lush and dripping with life plus one of the reeeeally cool things is that there is a whole lot of alluvial gold hidden on the streams and riverbeds, left over from the gold mining era! There are designated spots in New Zealand where recreational gold panning is allowed (click here to read about it and find out the locations) and although the track this track isn't on that list, the girls had a little hunt on the creek anyway. Arabella had her torch and could see lots of 'gold' but it was just schist, which there is heeeeaps of in the South Island and the schist flakes really can look like flakes of gold. We didn't have our gold pan with us but it was still exciting for them to dig around in the creek and shine the torch on something they thought may be gold.
One of our favourite places to explore in New Zealand are the West Coast rainforests, which are super lush and dripping with life plus one of the reeeeally cool things is that there is a whole lot of alluvial gold hidden on the streams and riverbeds, left over from the gold mining era! There are designated spots in New Zealand where recreational gold panning is allowed (click here to read about it and find out the locations) and although the track this track isn't on that list, the girls had a little hunt on the creek anyway. Arabella had her torch and could see lots of 'gold' but it was just schist, which there is heeeeaps of in the South Island and the schist flakes really can look like flakes of gold. We didn't have our gold pan with us but it was still exciting for them to dig around in the creek and shine the torch on something they thought may be gold.
Remember To Bring A Torch
The forest here is covered in spongy moss and it feels so magical in some areas, like the fairies and goblins will pop out at any minute and invite us into their houses for a cup of organic dandelion tea. Hey, weirder things have happened! Arabella and Sienna loved exploring around the trees and climbing them and I loved how quiet and peaceful the track was - it's so far away from any city that the only sounds are birdsong, twigs crunching under your feet and the gentle trickle of the streams that pass through the forest.
There are some stairs on this track which took us further down into the forest where we explored more streams (still no luck finding any gold!) and used our phone torches to look inside the many caves/shafts we found along the track. I really wish had bought a powerful torch with us because it would have been really cool to go in further than a couple of meters past the entrance but our phone torches just weren't cutting it! We have explored so many caves and tunnels on our travels around New Zealand that you think we would have purchased a good torch by now, right? However, we managed to use some basic torches and our phone lights to explore the Waipu Caves and Abbey Caves, both in Northland, the Rail Tunnel Loop Track in the Waikato, also the Tartare Tunnels Track and the Callaghans Track on the West Coast.
There are some stairs on this track which took us further down into the forest where we explored more streams (still no luck finding any gold!) and used our phone torches to look inside the many caves/shafts we found along the track. I really wish had bought a powerful torch with us because it would have been really cool to go in further than a couple of meters past the entrance but our phone torches just weren't cutting it! We have explored so many caves and tunnels on our travels around New Zealand that you think we would have purchased a good torch by now, right? However, we managed to use some basic torches and our phone lights to explore the Waipu Caves and Abbey Caves, both in Northland, the Rail Tunnel Loop Track in the Waikato, also the Tartare Tunnels Track and the Callaghans Track on the West Coast.
Watch Out For Creepy Crawlies
One of the best parts of the track is the biggest mining tunnel (you'll know it when you see it) as it's large enough for most people to explore although adults may need to duck down a bit. The ground was a little bit soggy, but manageable, and we could see all the pickaxe marks around the sides and top of the tunnel from where it was all hand carved out. Imagine creating this tunnel only for someone to say it was in the wrong place omgggggggg!
Lath went quite deep into the tunnel where it split off into two and then he turned back because he wasn't sure how far it would go and he didn't have a strong torch. I stayed near the entrance with the girls - I love tunnels and caves but I can't bring myself to go too far in! Bella said a big NOPE to going in further once she saw all the cave weta on the roof, so we hung out at the entrance while we waited for Lath to finish exploring. The weta are harmless but there is nothing worse than knowing there are creepy crawlies all around you but you can't see them and it's probably even worse knowing they can jump up to 3 metres!!! Happy exploring ;)
I thought the entrance was super beautiful and enchanting with the afternoon winter light hitting the vibrant green moss. I cannot get enough of the West Coast rainforests.... they are honestly the best forests we have explored in the whole of New Zealand!
Lath went quite deep into the tunnel where it split off into two and then he turned back because he wasn't sure how far it would go and he didn't have a strong torch. I stayed near the entrance with the girls - I love tunnels and caves but I can't bring myself to go too far in! Bella said a big NOPE to going in further once she saw all the cave weta on the roof, so we hung out at the entrance while we waited for Lath to finish exploring. The weta are harmless but there is nothing worse than knowing there are creepy crawlies all around you but you can't see them and it's probably even worse knowing they can jump up to 3 metres!!! Happy exploring ;)
I thought the entrance was super beautiful and enchanting with the afternoon winter light hitting the vibrant green moss. I cannot get enough of the West Coast rainforests.... they are honestly the best forests we have explored in the whole of New Zealand!
Indiana Jones
Once Dora the Explorer had finished his adventure in the tunnel, we set off on the rest of the track which was full of even more cave and tunnels (these ones weren't as big as the other one). There was even a swing bridge that was fun to cross over and it's too long or too high - perfect for Scaredy Pants Sally like me!
The last part of the track took us around what I'm assuming is an old water race, due to the width and depth of it and based on others we have seen in the west coast. Arabella was a bit over tunnels by this point (she had really only been in the big one I mentioned earlier) but to finish the loop track, we had to go through this tunnel/water race. Down the stairs it turned into a tunnel, with some areas that had a hole in the roof (it was either naturally like this, or from rockfall in the past) so we didn't have to use our phone lights in this tunnel but we chose to anyway. This is the perfect example of why sticking to the tracks in some areas is so important because there are so many old mine shafts scattered around the West Coast, you never know when you'll fall into the pits of doom (that would be a big ouchy).
The tunnel wasn't super long and we could see the light at the end of the tunnel (literally!) so even though it's a compulsory part of the track (unless you fancy turning back), it's not a scary tunnel and it can easily be done by everyone. I loved the roots and vines on the roof of the cave, hanging through where the light breaks through... it felt very Indiana Jones. It's a cool spot in here for photography and I'm not sure if there were also cave weta in here.... I didn't dare look!
The last part of the track took us around what I'm assuming is an old water race, due to the width and depth of it and based on others we have seen in the west coast. Arabella was a bit over tunnels by this point (she had really only been in the big one I mentioned earlier) but to finish the loop track, we had to go through this tunnel/water race. Down the stairs it turned into a tunnel, with some areas that had a hole in the roof (it was either naturally like this, or from rockfall in the past) so we didn't have to use our phone lights in this tunnel but we chose to anyway. This is the perfect example of why sticking to the tracks in some areas is so important because there are so many old mine shafts scattered around the West Coast, you never know when you'll fall into the pits of doom (that would be a big ouchy).
The tunnel wasn't super long and we could see the light at the end of the tunnel (literally!) so even though it's a compulsory part of the track (unless you fancy turning back), it's not a scary tunnel and it can easily be done by everyone. I loved the roots and vines on the roof of the cave, hanging through where the light breaks through... it felt very Indiana Jones. It's a cool spot in here for photography and I'm not sure if there were also cave weta in here.... I didn't dare look!
Know Before You Go
- The track is 1.1km long and takes 45-minutes but allow for longer so you have time to explore all of the caves
- It's an easy path with lots of flat areas and some stairs
- This is a loop track and there is 1 swing bridge and 1 tunnel to go through
- It could get a bit slippery after some rain, so wear good shoes
- Bring a torch to explore the tunnels with
- There is lots of gold mining history to see here
- Look for cave weta on the roof of the caves, some of them can get pretty big!
- Don't enter any caves that are blocked off - it's not worth the risk
- Keep kids close near any water races as they are super deep (but most are fenced off)
How To Get To The Woods Creek Track In Greymouth
The Woods Creek Track is 30-minutes inland from Greymouth, in Dunganville. The road surface changes from tar seal to gravel for the last 10kms and this isn't recommended for campers. There is a designated carpark and it's signposted. Don't drive past the Woods Creek car park as the road isn't maintained and a culvert has washed out.
Click here for the location on Google Maps.
Click here for the location on Google Maps.
Conclusion
We loved the Woods Creek Track and it's been one of the coolest walks we have done in New Zealand because it's such an interesting and diverse walk with the tunnels, caves, streams, swing bridge and all of the gold mining history. You could spend hours here exploring the tunnels and caves and hunting down cave weta (if you dare!). It's cool how short the walk is too and you see so much in such a short space of time.
Gallery of Woods Creek Track
Check out the rest of the awesomeness that didn't make it to the main blog but deserves to be shown.
More to do in New Zealand
CASTLE HILL
CANTERBURY One of the shorter walks in Arthurs Pass which is full of incredible limestone boulders that tower high above & are so much fun to explore!
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LAKE TE ANAU
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NUGGET POINT
OTAGO Set out at Nugget Point, in the wild and untamed Catlins, is one of New Zealand's most photographed spots - the Tokata Lighthouse.
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