Must-see attractions in The West Coast

  • Lake Matheson, South Westland, New Zealand.

    Lake Matheson

    Westland Tai Poutini National Park

    On a good day, the famous 'mirror lake' reflects extraordinary views of distant Aoraki/Mt Cook and Mt Tasman in its forest-shaded waters. The best time to…

  • Lake Kaniere

    The West Coast

    Lying at the heart of a 7000-hectare scenic reserve, 18km southeast of Hokitika, beautiful Lake Kaniere is 8km long, 2km wide, up to 195m deep, and…

  • Hokitika Gorge

    The West Coast

    Water this turqouise doesn't come easily. Half a million years of glacial movement sculpted Hokitika's ravine; the rock 'flour' ground over millennia…

  • Gillespies Beach

    Westland Tai Poutini National Park

    Follow Cook Flat Rd for its full 21km (the final 12km is narrow, winding and unsealed) to this remote beach, a ruggedly beautiful, wind-blasted length of…

  • Lake Māhinapua

    The West Coast

    Serene Lake Māhinapua lies 10km southwest of Hokitika, screened from SH6 by its surrounding forest. The scenic reserve, gazetted in 1907, has a picnic…

  • Formerly the Blackball Hilton

    The West Coast

    Blackball's major talking point is this century-old pub, once known as the Dominion. When it was renamed in the 1990s, a certain global hotel chain got…

  • National Kiwi Centre

    The West Coast

    Tiptoe through the darkened kiwi house to watch the birds rummage for tasty insects, or stare a tuatara – a reptile unchanged for 150 million years – in…

  • Peak Viewpoint

    Westland Tai Poutini National Park

    It's a very long way from the actual glacier, but this parking area provides a surprisingly good view over fields to Fox Glacier (weather permitting)…

  • Andris Apse Okarito Gallery

    The West Coast

    Okarito is home to world-class landscape photographer Andris Apse. His precisely composed gallery showcases his beautiful works, which are printed on-site…

  • Glowworm Dell

    The West Coast

    At nightfall, bring a torch (or grope your way) into this grotto on the northern edge of town, signposted off SH6. The dell is an easy opportunity to…

  • Lake Moeraki

    The West Coast

    Alongside the highway, 32km northeast of Haast Junction, and within the bounds of the World Heritage wilderness, Lake Moeraki is an undeveloped and…

  • Guy Menzies Site

    The West Coast

    Hari Hari is where swashbuckling Australian aviator Guy Menzies crash-landed his trusty biplane into a swamp after completing the first solo trans-Tasman…

  • Knights Point

    The West Coast

    Admire expansive views of boulder-studded sea from this roadside lookout. A granite column commemorates the opening of this section of coastal highway in…

  • St Mary's Catholic Church

    The West Coast

    This handsome Catholic church, completed in 1928, could only be admired from the outside when we passed through, due to earthquake-strengthening…

  • Sunset Point

    The West Coast

    A visit to Sunset Point is a quintessential Hokitika experience: watch the day's light fade away, observe whitebaiters casting nets, munch fish and chips,…

  • Petr Hlavacek Gallery

    The West Coast

    Admire the gallery space of Czech-born local Petr Hlavacek, regarded by many as one of NZ's finest landscape photographers, and buy a print if you're…

  • Goldfields Heritage Centre

    The West Coast

    The community-run Goldfields Heritage Centre harks back to Ross's shiny years, with displays and dioramas on gold mining, a scale model of the town, and…

  • Clock Tower

    The West Coast

    Iconic only to West Coast locals, Hokitika's attractive clock tower was unveiled in 1903 to commemorate King Edward VII's coronation and to memorialise…

  • Hokitika Museum

    The West Coast

    Housed in the gorgeous, recently strengthened Carnegie Building (1908), this museum has displays on greenstone, gold mining, history and whitebait fishing.

  • Fox Glacier Lookout

    Westland Tai Poutini National Park

    On a clear day, this is one of the best land-based positions from which to see Fox Glacier (though its retreat may mean you see just a snippet).

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