Buller Gorge

The Buller Gorge, where the Buller River cuts through the mountains between Murchison and Westport, is one of the most scenically dramatic road routes on the South Island. The highway clings to the gorge walls for much of its length, with the river visible far below, the bush pressing in on both sides, and the rock faces of the gorge rising above. The drive takes about an hour and is best done slowly.

The Buller Gorge Swingbridge, midway through the gorge near the town of Murchison, offers a short suspension bridge walk above the river and a jet boat operation on the lower gorge. The nearby Earthquake Slip Walk shows the remnants of the 1929 landslide. Accommodation is available at Murchison at the inland end of the gorge.

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A story
The Buller Gorge saw some of the West Coast's most dramatic colonial engineering. A series of gold rushes and coal booms required roads to be blasted through solid rock alongside the river — work done largely by Chinese and Irish labourers under dangerous conditions. The Murchison earthquake of 1929 (magnitude 7.8) reshaped parts of the gorge dramatically, and remnants of the landslides that dammed the river temporarily are still visible on the valley walls.

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