Nestled in the middle of Western Southland, the Longwoods are a 23,008-hectare area of undiscovered paradise, says Riverton local Janet Willis.

While the forest doesn’t receive as much press as nearby Fiordland, Willis says she fell in love with the area while developing her endurance running skills and now wants to share her enthusiasm with others. 

“The timing is great for people to discover this area. With rising fuel costs and what’s happening in the world, people don’t want to travel, just want to hang out and explore their own back yards.”

“It’s just 10 minutes from Riverton, and there’s just acres and acres of exploring galore. It’s a hunter’s playground, they love the remoteness of the area, but I think a lot of people miss the history of it.”

The Longwood Ranges were a major centre for gold mining from the mid-1860s to the 1950s, with mining beginning Round Hill, near Orepuki.

By 1882 there were 500 Chinese miners living at a township near Round Hill, named ‘Canton’, which was the largest Chinese settlement in New Zealand at the time.

“The Round Hill area is steeped in Chinese mining history. There was a whole village and it lasted there for years, but now there’s absolutely no remains of it at all.”

“In the forest, though, there’s all the remains of the mining equipment. The stampers and tram rails are in amazing condition, they don’t need to be restored at all,” she says.

Willis' son Leyland (12) exploring one of the forest tracks.

Willis says that while some tracks in the Longwoods are maintained to a very high standard, one – the Port Race tramping track – has fallen into disrepair due to a lack of funding. 

The track follows the Port water race, which was built in 1877 and used to provide mining sites with water up until the 1950s.

“It is still feasible to go through there, depending on how savvy you are, but the track is pretty rough.”

“Myself and a few other locals would love to get organised to repair and maintain the track, and sort of save and label the history. We want people to be able to come here and explore and learn something at the same time.”

Willis says access to walking tracks and hunting areas in the Longwoods is being improved by sustainable forestry occurring at the borders of the area.

“The forestry is great because it’s creating all these new trails and roads to access the tracks. It’s given the community access.”

“Before, you had to walk about 4km to the start of some of the tracks. The access roads were so overgrown you couldn’t even get through, so now it’s opening the forest for to people of all abilities to enjoy. We just want everyone to enjoy it from all walks of life.”

Willis says she hopes her enthusiasm for the area will encourage others to explore and get involved in any future track restoration efforts

“This is just a great place, and we really need to capitalise on it for Riverton. We want people to tune into the history and grow the adventure,” she says.