Waiuta

Waiutu is off SH7 between Reefton and Ikamatua. The road is unsealed and climbs steeply.

Now a ghost town, Waiuta has a long history as a centre of quartz mining. New reefs were discovered which kept the town alive much longer than many others on the West Coast, until 1951. Though many of Waiuta’s buildings were dismantled and removed when the mine closed, enough remain to give a vivid impression of life in an early mining town. DOC information panels tell the story.