Floating down the Oparara River on a rubber Lilo in the heat of summer, you could easily fancy yourself to be in the heart of Borneo. The deep groove the river has carved in the limestone of north-west Nelson evokes Conan Doyle’s lost world, and it’s not hard to imagine that crocodiles once hunted here. Indeed, as tropical-looking plants and ancient geology combine to weave a subtle spell, you may find yourself wondering if that’s really just a bit of driftwood up ahead.
The tropical connection isn’t altogether illusory. The nikau palms which line the river’s banks may have been part of a cargo of plants and animals from the Malayo-Pacific region that began arriving in New Zealand when dinosaurs were still chasing each other up and down what is today Queen Street. There were coconuts here then, and probably crocodiles, but that was before the Big Chill. The crocs and coconuts didn’t survive the ice ages, but nikau palms came through. Now they make the beachfront at Punakaiki look like Fiji. But don’t be fooled. A glance at the surfers in their 10 mm rubber suits will tell you how far from the equator you really are. Indeed, the New Zealand nikau palm, Rhopalostylis sapida, is the most southerly growing palm tree in the world.
