An Ultimate Guide for an Adventure to the West Coast

The region is home to the Maori tribe who are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand who have inhabited this Island since the 14^th century when they arrived here in canoes and developed their own culture having lived for long in isolation. The region is rich in greenstone which is highly revered by the Maoris and also in minerals like gold. There are many areas of ecological significance here including 5 national parks, and for adventure sports enthusiasts, there are opportunities to participate in mountain biking, kayaking, surfing, fishing, hiking, cycling, and hunting within strict regulations and many more. There are a number of hotels to suit all budgets and even shopping centers which provide a good opportunity to enjoy the local produce in all the major centers of the west coast states. Apart from these, there are a few museums and galleries which showcase the art and culture of this region and elsewhere. Greymouth is the largest town on the west coast and is the perfect base to explore the west coast states.

The TranzAlpine train journey of 223 km between Christchurch and Greymouth in less than 5 hours is among the best inland train journeys in the world for its scenic beauty and the stunning natural landscape along the way in the west coast states. You will travel along the epic Southern Alps, ice fed Waimakariri River, large tracks of rain and beech forests and plains. After starting on the west coast of the South Islands, it travels through the vast plains before it arrives at Springfield where the Southern Alps start rising majestically to the audible gasps of the travelers. Before this famous engineering marvel of the route from Springfield to Arthur’s pass was developed, the mountains acted as an insurmountable barrier to end the line at Springfield itself. As the train glides up and down the mountains to the Waimakariri River Gorge, you go can enjoy going through 15 tunnels and 4 viaducts, including the 72-meter high staircase via-duct. Along the way, you get breathtaking views of the Mount Binser, before crossing the Waimakariri River to reach Arthur’s pass. In this section, you can capture the spectacular views of the river crossing. Next is the 8.5 km long descent along the Otira Tunnel, the second-longest tunnel in the world in 1923 when it was completed, and you can’t stop wondering about the efforts that must have gone into building this route almost 100 years back. The TranzAlpine reaches Greymouth along the Otira and Taramakau Rivers on one side and the mountains on the other, you can enjoy the amazing natural diversity of the west coast states.

The TranzAlpine train departs Christchurch daily at 8:15 AM and reaches Greymouth at about 1:00 PM with 5 stops on the way. Flexi fare options are available wherein you can hop-off and on at any number of destinations for sight-seeing without restraint. It is a great way to cover all places along the way if you plan properly. A $10 charge is added for every stop-over which must be done at least 24 hours in advance.

The town of Hokitika became famous during the 1860s when people started settling here after the discovery of gold. It was also an important port but was dangerous for ships because of the shifting sandbar, the Hokitika bar. Greenstone which is abundant in the west coast states is found in the Arahura River which joins the sea at this town. The town lies at the mouth of the Hokitika River which rises in the Alps and joins the Tasman Sea. The Hokitika town is known as the jade country and you can know about the history of carving and see the jade carving industry in this town. You can even take a free 15-minute jade tour to see and understand the art and craft of carving work on the paunamu, the New Zealand jade, or the green stone. Paunamu was what attracted the Maoris to this place and they have depended long on this precious stone for commerce.

This is a place where you can stay when you are vacationing in the west coast states. The beach here kisses the main road and is a must-visit. Apart from that you can visit some art galleries, learn about the art, culture, and heritage of the place by going on a walk to see the historical buildings and monuments, apart from enjoying the natural wilderness everywhere. You have to also visit the Lakes Mahinapua and Kaniere where you can go skiing and swimming in the cold waters and then there is the spectacular Hokitika Gorge. This scenic gorge is 33 km from the town and you can get there by road. You can go to the swing bridge to get a stunning view of the blue-green water of the river flowing through the rocky gorge and take pictures. Other than this, you can go hiking, biking, fishing, scenic drives, kayaking, rafting, hunting and even golfing in this spectacular nature’s gift of a landscape. Finally, don’t forget to shop for jade and other souvenir items which you get in plenty, apart from enjoying coffee and great food while you are here.

This Westland Tai Poutini National Park is a vast 1350 sq km of expanse extending from the Southern Alps to the wild coastline covering diverse habitation and topography all along. It was established in 1950 and a must-see in the west coast states of New Zealand. Included in this huge park are dense rainforest land, relatively fast-moving ice glaciers, scenic lakes and even abandoned gold mining towns along the coast. You will also find one of the largest species of deer, the red deer, chamois, a large goat-antelope and tahr, a large species related to wild goat, in the mountainous forests. You can even go for hunting if you are game for that and helicopters are available to reach the mountainous locations of these animals. This park is so diverse that you can see 3000 meter high ice-covered peaks on one side hovering over the forests and mammoth sheets of ice extending all the way down to sea level on the other. You can go kayaking on Lakes Mapourika and Matheson or go bird-watching for some of the rare species found in these forests. Fox and Franz Josef glaciers are very popular tourist attractions here. In fact, this park is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Te Wahipounamu in the south-west and is bound by Aoraki Mount Cook, Mount Aspiring and Flordland National Parks on three sides.

Some of the outdoor activities you can indulge in this mammoth natural national park are bushwalking, mountain biking, Quad bike tours, mountaineering, Fishing, Swimming, Camping in designated areas, tramping, skydiving, gold fossicking or hand panning in legally designated areas, and skydiving, apart from walking, tramping, and hiking in different convenient locations. You also have a few helicopter guide tours to the glaciers.

The only road access to the park in west coast states of this country is from the State Highway 6, about 90 minutes via the Hokitika in the north or around 2 hours from Haast. There are a number of restaurants and cafes serving good quality cuisine in the park.

The Fox Glacier, Te Moaka O Tuawe, is located on State Highway 6, about 170 km from Hokitika. It is one of the few glaciers you can have a look at or even reach without being a professional mountaineer. This is a 13 km long maritime glacier which was named after the then New Zealand prime minister Sir William Fox when he visited the glacier in 1872. As the glacier reaches the coast, it descends 2600 meters in its 13 km long journey from the majestic Southern Alps. The outflow from the glacier feeds the Fox River. Around 1000 people visit this extremely accessible glacier daily from the nearby glacier village. You can have a look at the glacier by walking the one-hour fox glacier valley trail or choose to even take a guided hike onto the massive ice glacier itself. You can choose from the many helicopter guided tours available which allow you ice time of 1 hour to 6 hours or more in small groups. The ice formations are fluid, dynamic and ever-changing and the tours are also weather dependent. The heli-tours give you a number of options. With extreme-fox all day heli-hike, you can go ice climbing and spend around 6 hours on the ice. All the tours are safe, with enough safety precautions, safety equipment and guidance to the tourists from experts for a magnificent, unforgettable experience. The package includes good food and water which is available on the glacier itself in its purest form. When you go to the glacier you are strictly advised to adhere to the warning boards not to cross the barricades and other restrictions for your own safety.

When you take the helicopter ride at about 6500 feet, you get magnificent breathtaking views of the New Zealand west coast states highest peaks Mount Cook and Mount Tasman as you fly over the top of the fox glacier, called the fox nerve.

The Lake Matheson is very close to the Fox town in New Zealand’s west coast states. The beautiful Lake Matheson has a walking track which takes about 1hour to go around the lake once. It is an extremely exhilarating and relaxing walk through the lovely, lush forest wherein you can also enjoy the marvelous scenic beauty of the pristine nature at its best. Along the way, as you walk around the lake, you have a couple of viewpoints where you can have the visual treat of the surrounding areas and this is also a good photo opportunity for the family. This lake is famous for the reflected views of the snow-capped mountains Cook, known as Aoraki, and Tasman in its brown waters. Your chances of getting a nice photo in the lake and surroundings are good only if it is a sunny clear day without cloud cover. The lovely lake is also home to a few birds and sea creatures. The color of water in the lake is dark brown caused by natural leaching of organic matter from the forest floor, and this creates an ideal surface for reflections of the mountains in the east. The lake is also a traditional food gathering place for the Maoris due to the presence of eels and birds. The water from the lake drains off into the Clearwater River, which as its name indicates, has Clearwater flowing in it after it passes the suspension bridge.

The place has a good Lake Matheson Café where you can relax with a delicious cup of coffee and enjoy great food. If you are planning to stay in the area, there are a few good hotels in the vicinity. It is better to be equipped with good warm clothing when you go on a walk here around the lake.

Greymouth is the largest town on the west coast of South Island of New Zealand, with about 40% of the west coast states population living in this town. It is located at the mouth of the Grey River at the foot of the Southern Alps. Mount Cooks is visible to the south of the town. The town is very well connected by air, rail, and road, with a number of State Highways leading to it. Greymouth was originally called Mawhera, meaning widespread river mouth, by the Maoris who predate the Europeans as original inhabitants of the town by centuries.

Greymouth is famous for its jade hunting and gold mining which is brought out in the local museum as well as in jade galleries. It is also famous for its local brewery Monteith’s which is very popular in New Zealand and which you can even tour clubbed with a tasting session. There a few huge caves in this area which makes caving a popular activity along with activities like fishing, and sports like rafting. Raphahoe beach is a very good swimming attraction in Greymouth. From here starts the 2-hour point Elizabeth walk which passes through old gold mining towns and forest scenic reserves for a refreshing activity. Shantytown is another tourist attraction in Greymouth in the west coast states of New Zealand where you can experience the cultural heritage of a 19th-century town recreated to reflect the gold rush of the 1860s. This is located 10 km from Greymouth and clearly reflects how it was during Maori habitation and now post European colonization of the traditional Maori lands. It is open from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM on all days. Many other activities like the Quad tour on the forest track and many more can make this trip exciting and memorable for you.

Pan Cake Rocks in Punakaiki is the most visited place in New Zealand. These pancake look-alike rocks are supposed to have been formed around 30 million years back when small fragments of dead marine creatures landed about 2 km below on the sea bed. Over thousands of years, interaction with limestone, wind, sea-water and other elements turned them into hard layers of limestone with soft layers of mud. Later on seismic activities forced them to the surface and the natural forces formed them into pancake shapes. Also present here in this area are numerous spectacular blowholes which are formed when compressed water and air escape from the caverns below at great pressure. You can see them at their spectacular best during high tides.

With a video/still camera in hand, you can explore this amazing creation of nature, a part of the Paparoa National Park, by taking the paved short walk which is accessible for children and even wheel-chair bound persons. This walk starts from Dolomite point near Punakaiki on SH 6, 44 km from Greymouth. As you take the 25- 45-minute walk, you pass over stairways cutting into rocks and a limestone bridge and a surge pool. All along the way you get full opportunity to keep your camera clicking and video rolling to capture the spenders of these natural wonders. You can check out for the high-tide times in the visitors section before setting out to get the best possible experience at the blowholes. You can also look out for Hector’s Dolphins which love to play close to shore much to the delight of visitors and more great pictures for posterity. A word of caution when you visit this place, especially with children, is to strictly follow the safety board instructions, especially at some of the blowholes which can sometimes be dangerous with their suddenness, big noise and water surge.

The west coast states of South Island is a place where you need to venture in with proper planning, especially with regards to accommodation, more so in peak tourist seasons. Though you get some very good accommodation in major towns, in other areas it might be difficult for you to get some decent place to stay without advance booking as these are extremely sparsely populated areas. This is an area where Trip.com can help you out. We have endeavored to collate as much information as possible in our ultimate guide for an adventurer to west coast states with an optimum mix of all types of areas and adventures to suit different types and tastes of people. This is with a view to empower them to take this trip to the land to view one of nature’s most amazing creations, which is fortunately well preserved. Our attempt is to get you to plan a trip with as much information as possible to make it a memorable one, to cherish for a long time. Trip.com helps you out by providing all the relevant bits and pieces of valuable information you need to make the decision and then to execute that decision in a flawless manner.