West Coast – Fiordland

There is nowhere in New Zealand like the West Coast of the Southern Alps

The West Coast region was named Te Tai O Poutini by early Maori and was valued highly for its greenstone. Maori settlements on the West Coast date back centuries. Later, Europeans came seeking the other precious resources of the area like gold, coal and timber.

The West Coast Gold Rush between 1864 and 1867 created numerous gold rush towns such as Okarito which at one time was the largest town on the West Coast but then quickly almost vanished as miners moved on. Following greenstone (pounamu jade) and gold, the next mineral to make the West Coast valuable was coal. Discovered near the Buller River in the mid 1840s, mining began in earnest during the 1860s. By the 1880s, coal had become the region’s main industry, with mines throughout the northern half of the region. Many of these continued in operation until the mid 20th century, and several survive today. Timber has also long been a major industry in the region, although in recent years there has been an uneasy balance between forestry for wood and forestry for conservation. Today The West Coast of the Southern Alps boasts 5 of New Zealand’s 14 national parks.

Out of the 140 glaciers flowing from the soaring peaks of the Southern Alps only two creep into the temperate zone of the west coasts rain forests – the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers. The power of these giant tongues of ice, grind down through temperate rainforest to just 250 metres above sea level. There is only one other place on this earth where this phenomenon takes place, Moreno Glacier in southern Argentina. The advantage of this for visitors is that the ancient glaciers are accessible, and those not wanting to venture further can get good views of their beauty, not far from the small townships that take their names.

Over 200 bush walks offer hikes from short ten minute strolls to five day hikes through the lower regions of the Southern Alps. Two of the country’s 12 ‘Great Walks’ lie at each end of the West Coast: the Heaphey Track just north of Karamea and the Cascade-Hollyford track in South Westland.

The Kakapotahi, the Hokitika and the Arnold rivers are well regarded rivers for white water activities, whilst Lake Brunner, Lake Kaniere, Lake Mahinapua offer family friendly boating and other recreational opportunities. The West Coast also offers a number of caving opportunities, from guided tours through to guided cave rafting and has some fantastic mountain biking and cycling opportunities.

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