During the West Coast Gold Rush in the early 1860s , the town of Lyell on the Buller River was founded . A dray road was built at the time towards the Lyell Saddle to give access to several mines and gold towns . There was also a dray road that started south of Seddonville and went along the Mokihinui River ; the first land access to Karamea was via this route . In 1886 , a survey was carried out to connect these two routes . Over time , knowledge of how much of the route had been built has been lost and the slips and landslides caused by the 1929 Murchison earthquake made those parts that had been built inaccessible . The 1968 Inangahua earthquake caused further damage
1968 Inangahua earthquake
1968 Inangahua earthquake
Old Ghost Road