Modern Art

(The Press)

A new luxury walking and accommodation package takes visitors through spectacular mountain scenery to a wild West Coast beach, amid fascinating pioneering history.

Text and pictures: David Killick

A few fluffy white clouds tinged with grey steal across the summit of Mount Glasgow and reach slender fingers down into the bush-clad slopes. But the sky remains piercingly blue, the river water sparkling and clear, the bush the deepest green.

It's an inspiring setting. We're at Rough and Tumble Bush Lodge, near Seddonville, about 50km north of Westport. The lodge opened just before Christmas. Even West Coasters, a tough and hardy breed not given to emotional excess, are impressed. The young brewer at Miner's Brewery in Westport (where we pick up some excellent Good Bastards beer), tells us it's a magic spot. Fishing is superb, too.

We are spending one night at the lodge, then walking the Charming Creek Walkway - known as one of the South Island's top five day walks - to the sea at Ngakawau, where we shall stay at the newly opened Charming Creek Bed and Breakfast.

Owner of Rough and Tumble Bush Lodge, Susan Cook, teamed up with Charming Creek B&B owner Gay Sweeney to launch the new walking experience, From the Mountains to the Sea.

Cook says she got the idea while walking the track. "I realized this is a classic traverse from the mountains to the sea, following the water from a tiny trickle to a roaring waterfall and dramatic gorge.

"Yet, because of transportation logistics, most people never get to experience the upper end of the track, which is in a tranquil valley amid the mining and sawmilling relics of the past."

Cook, a former Press journalist and US newspaper executive, started building the lodge together with husband Marion ("Weasel") Boatright, in 2004. Marion hails from the Appalachian mountains in western North Carolina, a region steeped in history with a proud tradition not unlike that of the South Island West Coast.

The lodge, and neighbouring subdivision, incorporates covenants to protect the environment. Walks take you through pristine rainforest alongside the stream and waterfalls.

Seddonville has a unique history. Named after former premier Richard John ("King Dick") Seddon, the intention was to build a grand town. Sections and street plans were drawn up, but the town never took off. The region reached its peak during the gold rush era of the late 19th century; later coal mining and logging formed the backbone of the community.

Rooms at Rough and Tumble are named after mining claims: Southern Light, Guiding Star, Invincible, Red Queen, and Old Derby.

Boatwright, a folklorist and musician, and Cook, who plays the fiddle, formed the Rough and Tumble String band.

Boatright recalls the area's history in his song, Red Queen mine:

"Oh, the golden dreams of the Red Queen mine…
"Old iron bridge, she's alive in the river sand, like the hopes and dreams of those grasping, just beyond the ridge,
"Swept away in time, like the Red Queen mine…"

After a superb gourmet dinner (hors d'oeuvre, local beef salad, salad, salmon, home-made bread, creamy white chocolate mousse washed down with of bottle of Waipara Riesling, purchased at the Seddonville Hotel), we relax, then wander down to see the glow worms, twinkling just like the Southern Cross billions of miles above us.

In the morning, fortified by muesli, fruit, coffee and an omelet, Susan takes us to the start of the walkway. She will then drive our car on to Charming Creek.

At once we are engrossed by the amazing history of the walkway. Miners and loggers constructed a railway that threaded its way for 10 kilometres alongside the river, sometimes spanning it, through narrow tunnels and next to precipitous slopes. Imagine the sheer grit and determination of the men who clung to the cars - which were unbraked - as they sped along this heart-stopping rollercoaster carrying logs or coal. On at least one occasion, the locomotive's brakes failed. Men had to jump for their lives before the runaway train careened out of control into the riverbed.

The railway closed in 1958, but remains of old engines and carriages remain buried in the bush, as well as screeds of twisted iron in the water.

On a fine day, the "creek" tumbles amid boulders through a rocky canyon. The Mangatini Falls look peaceful, but after heavy rain they can become a seething, angry torrent of raging water. Rain or shine, the walkway is dramatic.

As we reach Ngakawau, we come to the present-day coal-mining centre. It still forms a major part of the West Coast economy (the Stockton Mine, on the high plateau, is close by), but now has been joined by thriving and expanding small businesses: artists and craftspeople, and tourism.

Gay Sweeney's Charming Creek B&B is the ideal place to soothe weary muscles and indulge in another beer or glass of wine, lazing back on the large bamboo outdoor seat. She has transformed a house into a restful oasis.

Gay, a vibrant exuberant personality, is a former teacher and broadcaster who also has a varied background. In the United States, she producing syndicated radio programs, including the "fireside chats" for Ronald Reagan. She also produced broadcasts for Edward Kennedy and Bob Dole.

Our meal is similarly indulgent: albacore tuna pate as hors d'ouevres, cauliflower and potato soup, whitebait, and nectarine and boysenberry sponge pudding.

Among Gay's plans is to build hot pools nestled in the sand dunes across the road directly facing the sea. And perhaps a stage for performances by local musicians such as the Rough and Tumble String band.

You can wander along the beach, breathing in rejuvenating fresh sea air. We already feel refreshed and revitalized.

"Each of us has a different style of accommodation, menu and hospitality - which reflects where we are, our landscape and environment," says Gay. "Spending a night in the mountains and a night with the salty roar of the ocean gives people a real taste of the northern West Coast - a smorgasbord of sights, sounds and scenery…and all in two days!"

* Costs: $600 per coupe, $400 single, includes dinner, bed, breakfast, picnic lunch, vehicle transfer and GST. Does not include beer or wine.

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