West Coast Regional Information

With 600km of pristine land and some of the country's great natural wonders to feast your eyes on, you won't want any electronic distractions. The West Coast is where you go to get away from it all and in many respects little has changed over the years. The natural attractions are still easily accessible... and they're still free. Soak up the splendour of the Buller Gorge; the Buller is the Coast's largest river and winds its way through a number of sensationally scenic gorges between Westport and Murchison.

At Cape Foulwind follow the stone steps and boardwalk for a bird's-eye view of the seal colony and check out the information panels along the way. Further south are the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes, remarkable stacks of rock made from fragments of skeletons and shells that have been sculpted over the millennia by rain, wind and sea water. The blowholes perform at their best around high tide with a strong sea swell.

The Franz Josef and Fox glaciers offer the rare opportunity to experience a dynamic glacial environment that's conveniently close to the highway. Further south the Haast Highway links Haast with Wanaka and is a journey you'll definitely want to take when you have plenty of time for stops along the way. The incredibly varied and beautiful landscape includes lookouts, walks, waterfalls and the magnificent Blue Pools of Haast that are well signposted and not far from the road.

If you want to get off the beaten track, take a trip up to the Oparara Basin at the northern tip of the region. The kids will have a whale of a time exploring the limestone arches and caves and you can book a tour to see the bones of extinct native birds, including moa.

The West Coast's rich mining heritage is evident throughout the region and many walks explore the heritage sites. If you've ever wondered what an 1860s gold town looked like or what it was like to be a coalminer, you can find out by heading to Shantytown or underground at Denniston.

The boom time for the West Coast's largest town was during the 1860s gold rush, and it's the character gained from these days, along with a still-present pioneering spirit, that makes Greymouth such an appealing destination for a holiday. For a fabulous photographic history of the West Coast, visit the History House Museum, which is also the place to go to for family history information.

Greymouth makes an ideal base for exploring the Central West Coast region with many West Coast attractions just a short trip away. See the fabulous Pancake Rocks and Blowholes at Punakaiki, an authentic 1860s gold-rush town at Shantytown, and some of the South Island's best trout fishing at Lake Brunner. Greymouth is also a great place for shopping, with numerous greenstone galleries offering a range of sculptures and jewellery and there's also the opportunity to view carvers at work.

The Central West Coast is a walker's paradise and if you're based in Greymouth then you're in the perfect position to take advantage of the region's impressive walks and tramps. You can combine great scenery with exercise and also get an education in West Coast history by exploring areas such as the Nelson Creek Goldfields and Blackball with its proud working class history.

Attractions

• Take the family back to the gold rush days with Shantytown's faithful replica of an 1860s gold-mining town. There are over 30 historical buildings to check out, including the fire station, post office and pub.
• West Coasters have always appreciated a fine drop and Greymouth's local brewery Monteith's has won international acclaim. Take a tour to observe the entire beer-making process, finishing in the bar with a formal tasting of each of the seven beer styles. The history of this traditional brewery is shown in its on-site mini-museum.
• Lake Brunner is the water playground of the Central West Coast. The lake's surrounding rivers and streams make for great fishing and all forms of water sports, and there are also great picnic spots, beach and forest walks, caving and a variety of wetlands and rainforest ecosystems to explore.
• One of the world's great rail journeys, the TranzAlpine, travels between Greymouth and Christchurch daily. The journey is 223.8km long, takes four and a half hours and includes 19 tunnels and four viaducts, the highest being the Staircase reaching 73m.
• There are over 50 walks in the Greymouth area, taking from 30 minutes to two days. Some of the most popular tracks are:
• Greymouth Flood Wall: Starting from Mawhera Quay, this is a pleasant walk along the top of the town's flood wall. There are several access and exit points and the walk takes in views of the riverside commercial area, fisherman's wharf and the tidal estuary
• Point Elizabeth Walkway: (three hours return) A coastal walkway that starts in the Greymouth suburb of Cobden and has superb views.
• Coal Creek Falls: (one-hour return) This well-graded walking track takes you up the Coal Creek valley through podocarp forest to the falls.
• Nelson Creek Walks: From the Nelson Creek settlement, opposite the hotel, you can explore the many walks around the goldfields that lead you to tunnels, glowworms, a swing bridge and Chinese water race.
• Brunner Mine Site: Just over 11km east of Greymouth the site can be accessed from Dobson or Taylorville. The old Tyneside chimney landmark and suspension bridge make the site a wonderful place to explore.
• Woods Creek Track: 26km south of Greymouth past Shantytown. A loop track through tailings and raceways. There are tunnels to explore for the adventurous (bring your torch).

Situated where the mighty Buller River meets the sea, Westport was first a gold town and then a coal town. Nowadays Westport is known for its almost limitless range of adventure activities, awesome scenery and local arts. The town offers an eclectic mix of art and crafts, antiques, collectibles and jewellery, and you'll also find art and craft studios 30 minutes north of the town at the friendly coastal villages of Granity and Hector.

Twenty minutes drive to the west of Westport is Tauranga Bay/Cape Foulwind where an excellent walking track leads to New Zealand's most accessible fur seal colony. An award-winning café/restaurant is located nearby. About 5km from Westport on the western side of the Buller River is Carters Beach, the only sheltered sandy beach on the West Coast suitable for swimming.

Westport offers a full repertoire of adventure activities and most of these are located in the Lower Buller Gorge and the Charleston Ranges. The Buller Gorge is the setting for white-water rafting (grades 2-4) and jet boating adventures, while Charleston (26km south of Westport) has trips into the glowworm-filled Nile River Caves.

Attractions

• Nature-lovers are treated to an abundance of fascinating wildlife on the West Coast. A bird's-eye view of a rookery of New Zealand fur seals and great coastal views are a short walk from the car park at Cape Foulwind. Panels along the walkway provide information about activity in the seal colony, as well as historical details about the sealing industry that once existed in New Zealand.
• Located 25km northeast of Westport, Denniston is a near-deserted town on a bleak windswept 600m plateau. Part of the town is a historical reserve, with a museum and a number of walking tracks around mining relics. The Denniston Walk (three hours up and two down) follows the track used by the coal miners.
• The Denniston Experience run tours that include a guided train journey into the mine so you can experience for yourself the sights, sounds and activities of those brave pioneering West Coast miners.
• Charleston is a thriving small community and the northern gateway to the rugged and beautiful limestone sculptures of the Paparoa National Park. The town has some of New Zealand's best rock climbing, abseiling and bouldering on the coastal cliffs.
• The Charleston caves lie deep in the Paparoa National Park and are complete with waterfalls, spectacular limestone formations, streams, prehistoric fossils and magnificent glowworm displays. Go abseiling, enjoy a boat ride underneath a sky of glowworms, or try black-water rafting where you don a wetsuit, hop on an inner tyre tube and cruise through the caves with a guide. Both wet and dry tours are available.
• The Westport area made its name in gold and coal mining and the following short walks explore the heritage sites located in settlements north of the town.


• At Granity, the Millerton Incline (20 minutes to three hours) is a moderate grade walk featuring historical coal mining and milling sites and a bathhouse.
• The Britannia Walkway (one and a half hours) in Birchfield is graded moderate to difficult. Includes gold panning, an old gold mine, a complete five-head quartz-crushing battery and varied forest.
• The Denniston Town Walk (easy 45 minutes) follows an old rope road and features the Friends of the Hill Information Centre, bowling green, old house sites, a stone dam and tennis court site.
• Also in Denniston, the Coalbrookdale Walk (one hour) is graded easy. Features include an old coal-mining rope road, Fane House and a tunnel.

A rare opportunity awaits you on the West Coast - the chance to come face to face with billions of cubic metres of solid blue ice without having to hike a long distance to see it.

The Franz Josef and Fox glaciers cut through dramatic glacial valleys to flow into temperate rainforest and both glaciers have a terminal face close to the main highway. These huge rivers of ice are the jewels of the Te Wahipounamu - South West New Zealand World Heritage Area (a place likened to world treasures such as the Grand Canyon and the Great Barrier Reef).

A range of guided glacier walks and climbing experiences to suit all ages and abilities is on offer for both glaciers. Heli-hikes and scenic flights with or without snow landings are available, as is a scenic sky dive for the really adventurous.

The two glaciers offer different types of glacier experiences, so take the time to visit both. If you're planning on staying in the area for a couple of days, the Franz Josef and Fox Glacier townships offer a range of accommodation as well as cafés and restaurants. Franz Josef has the added attraction of the Glacier Hot Pools to soothe any aches and pains after a day spent on the glaciers. Located in the heart of the village, the pools are surrounded by native bush and fed with pure glacier water.

PLEASE NOTE: The glacier valley is a dynamic environment and visitors must pay attention to all signs and barriers.

South of the glaciers, the outdoor attractions of Haast are numerous. These include fishing, hiking, nature tours, scenic flights, jet boating and river safaris, and the area is also a haven for bird-watchers. Haast Pass, which connects the Haast township with Wanaka, is considered by some to be New Zealand's most scenic journey. The natural attractions are easily accessible and well signposted from the highway.