The Bottled Lightning Powerhouse Walk is the neatest way to grasp why Reefton calls itself the Town of Light. The loop starts near the visitor centre, crosses the Inangahua River, and leads to the remains of the small hydroelectric station that powered the town's first public streetlights.
It is an easy walk rather than a wilderness outing, but the story is excellent. You are not just looking at mining ruins; you are standing at one of the early public-electricity sites in the Southern Hemisphere, built in a town that had gold money and the nerve to spend it on the future.