Epic Travel → Asia & the South Pacific → New Zealand → West Coast → Moria Gate Arch

Location: Karamea, West Coast, New Zealand

Time Required: 30 minutes

Distance: 2 km/1.2 miles roundtrip

Red Tape/Notes: None.

What’s Nearby?: Oparara Arch, Mirror Tarn, Box Canyon Cave, Crazy Paving Stone Cave

This is probably more efficiently done as a loop trail with the Mirror Tarn, but we had foolishly already stopped at the tarn so we did them separately. No big deal either way since both trails are quick. The Moria Gate Arch provides a neat contrast to the Oparara Arch – while the Oparara is vast and you’re not allowed to access more than the mouth of the tunnel, the Moria Gate Arch is smaller and the DoC has added helpful chains to encourage you to go underground and explore! It would have been a real insult to LoTR to name a place after Moria and then not allow you to go into it, and there’s definitely a cool little underworld down there, complete with a small cave off to the side. Don’t forget to bring your headlamp! And don’t worry, all Balrogs have been vanquished. You may run into some cute Whio though.

Epic Travel → Asia & the South Pacific → New Zealand → West Coast → Moria Gate Arch