West Coast Activities

From panning for gold in the hills to watching baby seals flop around on the coast, there are more than enough activities to keep children entertained in the West Coast. Don’t expect anything even remotely close to high-tech modern entertainment in this remote part of New Zealand. It’s all about the nature around these parts.

Cape Foulwind Fur Seal Colony
Situated along picturesque Tauranga bay is this excellent protected fur seal habitat. It is designed so that visitors must walk a short way down to a series of viewing platforms and watch the colony of more than 100 seals doing their natural thing. These cute seals frolic in the sea, sunbathe on the rocks and during the summer months feed their babies. Visitors are close enough to see all the action, but separated to preserve the natural state of the seals’ lives. The colony can be seen 10 miles southwest of Westport.

National Kiwi Centre
The strange little kiwi bird is the national symbol of New Zealand. It may not be able to fly, but the kiwi is one of the world’s most rare and beautiful creatures. This centre provides both the education and the experience to put kids in touch with this native bird. Apart from a small visitor centre, there are natural enclosures for the kiwi and other animals which include tuataras and giant eels. The centre is located in Hokitika. Phone: +64 3 755 5251.

Shantytown
This wonderfully recreated gold rush mining town looks exactly as most of these pioneer towns did in the 1860s. Designed as a heritage attraction, Shantytown offers plenty of fun to go with its wild west atmosphere. The open buildings all look like they stepped out of a Western film. Visitors can pan for gold or take a ride on the vintage steam train. Shantytown is located seven miles south of Greymouth. Website: www.shantytown.co.nz/.

The West Coast is mining country, and this industrial activity has stamped its mark on much of the region’s culture. There are dozens of abandoned mining towns to explore, as well as some which are still producing coal and gold. The Maori settled this area before the arrival of the Europeans, and there are a few interesting historical sites based around Maori culture. But the modern inhabitants of the West Coast are the fiercely independent, friendly ‘coasters’. The towns in this region are always fun places to meet the locals and experience their distinct version of Kiwi culture.

Bruce Bay
Bruce bay is more an area than a town, but there are some very ancient Maori sites here worth checking out. Surrounded by the UNESCO World Heritage area Te Wahipounamu, small farming communities dot the sublime forest and river valleys. This is the Kati Mahaki Maori homeland, and they have built the Te Tauraka Waka a Maui marae right on the coast. Some of the best lodging on the West Coast makes Bruce bay a good stopover. Visitors can get a taste of Maori tradition while soaking in the amazing natural beauty just 50 minutes drive from Haast.

History House
This smart little museum in Greymouth contains the West Coast’s most comprehensive collection of photographs and relics detailing the lives of the people who settled this town. Gold and coal mining naturally are a main focus, but there are also some interesting exhibits about the mundane daily side of life in this extremely remote frontier region. Phone: +64 3 768 4028.

Hokitika
Many of the West Coast’s artists and craftsmen have chosen to make their home in Hokitika. The seaside location provides endless natural resources for the artists, who have turned the town into a virtual artist’s haven. A couple of museums, a theatre and some of the region’s best dining can be found here, making it a popular stopover for travellers. Hokitika is also where the famous Wildfoods Festival is held each March.

Karamea Museum
One of the better museums in the West Coast does an excellent job covering the history, heritage and culture of both the Maori and Europeans who have lived here over the centuries. In addition to exhibits about Maori lore, there are extensive displays about the many industries that supported the early settlers such as mining, farming and milling. The museum is located in Karamea. Phone: +64 3 7826955.

Reefton
This gold mining town dates back to the 1860s, and has remarkably preserved much of its pioneer charm and character. Some of the West Coast’s most important historic sites are featured in and around Reefton and Victoria Conversation park, offering visitors plenty to do. The town’s Heritage Walk is a great place to start. The self-guided tour takes you past the most colourful buildings and sites in town. Stop by the visitor centre and pick up the free map. There are also plenty of fun pubs, cafés and shopping in this little town.

Ross
The colourful history of this tiny gold mining town hasn’t been lost to the past, and most visitors to this region make a point of stopping by on their travels. There are dozens of historic sites in and around Ross, including a working gold mine where you can recreationally pan for gold just like they did 150 years ago.

When you are travelling along the West Coast you will notice a distinct ‘coasters’ fascination with what they call ‘wild food’. Representatives of native produce, herbs and meat can be found on virtually every menu in this region and is the most distinctive aspect to West Coast cuisine. Wild foods include unusual items such as huhu grubs, puha soup, seaweed, venison and fish eyes.

Of course, nearly every restaurant offers more standard fare with particular emphasis on the amazing bounty of fresh seafood and produce found in the region. New Zealand has a thriving meat industry as well, with some of the best lamb, beef and venison in the world. Seasonal delicacies from the Tasman Sea also feature on the menus. Oysters, whitebait, scallops, John Dory, crayfish and snapper are all perennial favourites.

Unless you are at a truly fancy restaurant, which is hard to come by in the West Coast, the atmosphere when dining out is very casual. There are few pretensions in this part of New Zealand, so come as you are and enjoy the hearty local food. Some restaurants have a BYO (‘bring your own’) license, which means you can bring your own beer, wine or liquor and drink it with your meal.

The larger towns like Greymouth and Westport have the best variety of places to eat and drink, but you can be sure to find at least a couple of humble cafes and a local pub in even the smallest town.

The shopping options in the West Coast revolve extensively around its impressive flock of resident artists and craftspeople. It’s only natural that creative-minded people would choose to live and make their art in such a sublime and inspiring environment. Thus, the West Coast has become something of a hub for the best of New Zealand’s arts and crafts scene.

Natural materials such as greenstone, driftwood, shells and various minerals are found in abundance in the West Coast. These resources are shaped, carved and assembled in wonderful ways to produce some beautiful pieces of art and jewelry. Nearly every town in the West Coast seems to have a thriving arts and crafts community, but there are some standouts. From the larger towns of Greymouth and Hokitika to tiny reclaimed mining villages such as Granity, an art studio is never hard to find.

The West Coast region is literally one vast sweep of natural beauty. With a mere 30,000 residents, the emphasis here is on nature and wildlife. The rare kiwi, white heron, penguins, dolphins and fur seal colonies all make their homes here, and visitors have a rare chance to observe them up close. The towering Southern Alps, temperate coastal rainforests and wild coastal beaches and bays are overflowing with scenic highlights. Most of the activities in the West Coast are individual efforts like hiking, skiing, boating and fishing including some extreme excursions if you need more adventure.

Adventure Sports
There is an amazing array of unusual outdoor recreation available in the West Coast. The region is rated as one of the world’s top five extreme kayaking destinations, and also has some challenging alpine climbing routes. Fun can be had on jet-boats upriver, inland caving, canoeing, mountain biking and heli-hiking. Horseback rides are another favourite in this rugged region to get you deep into the backcountry faster and easier.

Fishing
The fishing options along the West Coast are seemingly endless. Anglers can choose from fly fishing in the rivers, boating on the lakes or deep sea fishing in the Tasman Sea. Lewis pass is renowned for its rivers, Brunner lake and its surrounding rivers are famous for their brown trout, and Hari Hari has some of the best sea fishing along the coast. Outdoor outfitters can set you up with all the gear, information, licenses and even guidance to create a memorable fishing excursion.

Four-wheel Adventures
As a result of the extensive mining and logging activities that went on for decades, the West Coast is covered with rough dirt tracks accessible only by four-wheel drive vehicles. If you are a motorsports fan, you can rent a four-wheel drive and set off into some truly wild country. Nearly every dirt road leads to either an abandoned ghost town, a remote natural attraction or an incredible viewpoint, and half the fun is getting there.

Hiking
The walks in the West Coast are among the finest in New Zealand, if not the world. There are dozens of different kinds of treks which will take you into environments ranging from glaciers to rainforests. Every town in the region serves as the base for a number of walking options. They range from epic multi-day adventures like the Heaphy track to shorter jaunts such as the coastal Elizabeth point trail. Most of the multi-day trails have backcountry huts for camping out, so if you enjoy hiking you will be in heaven. Website: www.doc.govt.nz/templates/summary.aspx?id=36417.

Scenic Flights
For the well-heeled, one of the most exciting excursions in the West Coast is a scenic flight. There are dozens of sites along the coast and in the glacier country where you can hop in a helicopter or light aircraft and get aerial views over this region that will blow your mind. Circle New Zealand’s highest mountain, Mount Cook, hover over the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers, or soar along the dramatic coastline. This is a hot facet of tourism around here, so there are choices just about everywhere.