Greymouth to Reefton
West Coast Self Drive Travel Guide.

  Travel Facts
Distance: 79 km (50 miles)
Approximately: 1 hour 05 minutes
Road Conditions:
State Highway 7 Greymouth to Reefton

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Greymouth - Brunner - Stillwater - Ikamatua - Waiuta - Reefton

The route to Reefton is an easy and comfortable drive on either side of the Grey River valley as we pass through stands of native bush, historic areas and farmlands over the Reefton Saddle and down to Reefton in approximately 1 hour, (without stops.)

From Greymouth we have two options:
1) Cross the Grey River and take the Taylorville road to the Brunner mine site, Blackball and then up the western side of the valley through Atarau to Ikamatua.

2) Follow the Grey River on it's southern bank to Brunner and Stillwater, where you can then cross the Grey River to visit Blackball and journey on the west side of the valley or continue up the eastern flank through Ngahere, Arahua and Totara Flat to Ikamatua.

Either route is sealed all the way offering scenic views as we pass through the valley farmlands and stands of native bush flanked by the Paparoa Range to the West and the Southern Alps to our right.

Greymouth - Brunner - Stillwater - Ikamatua - Waiuta - Reefton

Brunner Mine Site, Grey District.

The Brunner area is stepped in mining history, with the settlements of Dobson and Stillwater on the south bank of the Grey and Taylorville on the north being the last vestiges of what once was the largest coal mining operation on the Grey River.

From the 1860's through to the 1940's Coal was extracted as coke, firebricks and other products were produced.

Today the site includes many relics and artefacts from the period and stands as an Historic place and monument to the 65 men and boys who lost their lives in the mine explosion of 1896.

The history of the mine is clearly laid out with the site being easily recognised by the Tyneside Chimney just past Dobson (11kms from Greymouth), on the south, with the Centenial Monument on the north bank just past Taylorville.

There is a good walkway around the site taking in the former brick works and coaking ovens with many interpretive panels in place and the restored box girder bridge across the Grey River linking the two sides of the former mine site for foot traffic.

Allow 1 hour to explore the site and complete the short walk.

From here it is a short 5 minute drive on either side of the river to Stillwater.

At the Stillwater Cemetry on Arnold Valley Road, (Lake Brunner Highway), the recovered bodys of the men and boys killed in the mine explosion are laid to rest in a mass grave.

This is well sign posted and marked about one hundred metres along Arnold Valley Road on the right.

At Ahaura we cross the Aharua River via a lengthy one lane bridge, before we begin the climb from Ikamatua to the Reefton saddle and the down hill run to Reefton town. Just after Ikamatua is the turn off to the former mining town of Waiuta on the plateau above the valley. This is a short trip (8km) over some unsealed sections, but well worth the drive for the incredible views over the Grey Valley and eastward to the Southern Alps.

Just after Ikamatua is the turn off to the former mining town of Waiuta on the plateau above the valley. This is a short trip (8km) over some unsealed sections, but well worth the drive for the incredible views over the Grey Valley and eastward to the Southern Alps.

Waiuta, high above the Grey Valley .. at one time the South Island's richest Gold mine.

It is somewhat ironic that one of the mine shafts in this locality is the deepest in New Zealand. You see the township sits at approximately 800metres above sea level while the shaft is over 900metres deep. So in theory that means those early miners climbed to the top of the mountain in order to drive a shaft to the bottom and beyond of the same mountain.

But it was obviously worth the effort, as Waiuta was one of the most prosperous gold fields in New Zealand and lays claim to being the South Island's richest.

Returning to SH 7 it is only 35kms from the Waiuta turn off to Reefton township. The view from here on changes from open farmlands to native forest as we climb to the Reefton saddle and then pass back into farmland as we take the down hill run to Reefton in the heart of the Victoria Forest Park.

 

Greymouth - Brunner - Stillwater - Ikamatua - Waiuta - Reefton

Reefton is a picturesque town full of history. Known as the "the Town of Light" it was the first town in the southern hemisphere to have a public supply of electricity, even before many of the more fashionable suburbs of London and New York.

Established about 1870 Reefton has its beginning like most other places on the West Coast, with the discovery of gold bearing quartz reefs in the late 1860s. It is these Reefs that gave the town its name.

The Bearded Miners Reefton, West Coast. New Zealand

Proudly part of the Buller District, that incorporates the northern West Coast from Punakaiki north to Karamea, Reefton remains a unique mining town one of the few where gold is still won from the surrounding district.

 

Welcome to Reefton - enjoy your stay.

This Guide last Updated February: 2011