Rongo Backpackers, Karamea

Karamea is the northernmost town on the west coast of the South Island. I dragged Auburn up here on the basis of some photos I saw in a brochure. It turned out to be a delightful detour.

The drive up is through windy mountain roads. A couple of hours in and we were met with a sign that warned that due to the curvaceous manner in which the road wound up and down the mountain, we would have to reduce our speed to 35km an hour … for the next 26km!!