Whangarei
17.89°C
Whangarei
17.89°C
Waitakere City
16.98°C
Manukau City
17.11°C
Papakura
24.46°C
Hauraki
17.26°C
Waikato
17.67°C
Matamata
18.46°C
Hamilton
17.51°C
Otorohanga
18.52°C
Rotorua
16.6°C
Taupo
15.44°C
Tauranga
19.27°C
Kawerau
18.6°C
Whakatane
19.64°C
Gisborne
15.51°C
New Plymouth
16.98°C
Stratford
8.97°C
Ruapehu
14°C
Wanganui
17°C
Palmerston North
16.41°C
Wairoa
19.19°C
Hastings
18.84°C
Napier
18.49°C
Masterton
15.49°C
Carterton
15.66°C
Porirua
15.99°C
Lower Hutt
16.45°C
Wellington
15.79°C
Tasman
9.35°C
Nelson
16.27°C
Marlborough
3.22°C
Kaikoura
15.48°C
Christchurch
12.59°C
Ashburton
12.52°C
Timaru
13.37°C
Waitaki
11.32°C
Waimate
13.08°C
Queenstown
12.38°C
Dunedin
14.33°C
Southland
9.98°C
Gore
11.31°C
Invercargill
12.06°C
Blenheim
14.73°C
Te Anau
27.35°C
Wanaka
11.17°C
Kaikoura
13.38°C
Stratford
13.54°C
Upper Hutt
15.9°C
About
The walkway is located at Kawatiri Junction, which is the junction of State Highway 6 and State Highway 63, 77 km southwest of Nelson and 35 km northeast of Murchison. There is a car park on the left side of the road where the historic Kawatiri Station platform remains. The platform now hosts information panels that provide details on the history of the rail line and the Pikomanu settlement that used to exist nearby.
The walkway crosses Hope River over a pedestrian footbridge that utilises the old rail bridge piers. The tunnel is immediately after the bridge. You can walk the tunnel without a torch, though it would be handy to avoid the puddles that can sometimes pool. At the northern tunnel portal the old bridge piers can be seen in Hope River bed. The walkway climbs a staircase and passes through beech forest around Woodhen Bend in Hope River, and returns back to the southern tunnel portal to complete the loop. Just before you return to the southern tunnel portal you will notice a small hollow cut into the rock on the hill slope on the left; this was used as an explosives store by tunnel construction workers. Cross the bridge back to the car park to finish the the walk.