Oparara Basin

The Oparara Basin lured us in the morning.  Wow, the road was tight!   Skinny, gravel, rutted, but so great to get there!  We walked in to the caves - Crazy Paving and Box Canyon Caves and had a good look around with our torches.  They were really cool, and we were the only people there.  The Box Canyon was massive, such a high ceiling!
Then we walked to the Oparara Arches, which was a cool track beside a river out to a really high arch / cave.  The river was a gorgeous brown from the tannin from the leaf litter in the bush .
After that,  we walked to the Mirror Tarn, for a reflection photo opportunity.
And to top it all off,  we went out to the start of the Heaphy Track and walked in to the first swing bridge.  The last time I was here was when I was 9 years old,  tramping it with my family.  My hat goes off to my mum and dad getting us four kids  and our cousin 78 kms!
We had a little paddle around and spied an eel in the water.  A big healthy thing.
The sandflies were merciless out there and we have bought a can of fly spray for the car as well as the caravan!
We came home for a little rest,  then headed out for dinner to celebrate 11 years of marriage!   We went to The Last Resort pub and I had the whitebait fritters, be rude not to, really.
A lovely night after an action  packed day.