Up in the hills above the Grey Valley sits one of the Coast's best known ghost towns. A gravel road leads in to what was once a busy gold mining settlement, a place that pulled nearly 750,000 ounces of gold from 1.5 million tons of quartz.

Waiuta township grew right alongside the mine, and by the 1930s around 600 people lived there. Being so isolated, the town ran largely on its own, with its own shops, facilities and social life.

These days it's a quiet, atmospheric spot, the old buildings and foundations a reminder of how things were. Well worth the drive in if you've got any interest in Coast history.