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Karamea - Punakaiki - Hokitika - Franz Josef Glacier - Fox Glacier
Introduction: Home of untamed coastlines, National Parks, glaciers and Monteiths beer, the South Island’s West Coast has bred a persona all its own : the rugged landscape has spawned adventurers who are not too concerned with mundane conventions. Its history is populated with gold diggers and coal miners, individualists not afraid to tackle the land that lies stretched between the tempestuous Tasman Sea and the mountainous Southern Alps. The West Coast’s National Parks - Kahurangi, Paparoa and Westland/Tai Poutini, (home of the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers), as well as protected areas such as the Cape Foulwind Seal Colony and the Okarito Lagoon set the scene for many outdoor pursuits. Adventurous visitors can test themselves with black and white-water rafting, ice climbing, sky-diving, tramping or mountain biking, while the more placid will prefer day walks, narrow gauge train rides, kayaking and paddleboat cruises. It takes adventurers of a different sort to tackle Hokitika’s Wildfoods Festival. This region is the perfect place to take to the skies. Helicopters fly high over the Alps, taking visitors inland for hunting, kayaking and trout-fishing trips, to the upper reaches of the glaciers for guided walks, or on flight-seeing trips to Aoraki/Mt Cook, New Zealand’s highest peak. Whether in the air or on the road, the further south you go, the more majestic the mountains become, as they rise ever higher. When SH6 reaches the Haast River, it climbs inland to the spectacular Haast Pass, where sheer rock-faces and the massive peaks above often lay shrouded in mystery. Surrounded by such majesty, a beer by the fire at the end of the day will only bring the day’s adventures into sharper focus. No wonder West Coasters are so proud of their local brew.
Some off the beaten track hotspotz:
CAPE FOULWIND
If you’re planning to stay around Westport, it’s worthwhile heading to the coast at Cape Foulwind, where boutique accommodation and the Bayhouse Café will provide all your creature comforts. A short loop road from Westport township takes you to the Cape, and the nearby Seal Breeding Colony, where fur seals abound all year round. Viewing platforms over the colony are reached via a 10-minute walk from the southern end of the coastal track, while the full 1.5 hour walk follows an escarpment past granite bluffs, a sandy beach and grazing pasture, offering panoramic views of the cape and the rugged coastline. Along the way, you may catch sight of a weka, that shy but inquisitive native inhabitant of the west coast. Easily accessible from Cape Foulwind and Westport is the Charming Creek Walkway, which follows the Ngakawau Gorge, and tours to the Paparoa National Park, offering black-water rafting through glow worm studded caves, white-water rafting, caving and rainforest narrow gauge train rides, which pass film sites from ‘The Lost World’.
Charming Creek Walkway, Ngakawau
35km north-east of Westport, the southern entrance to the Charming Creek Walkway is clearly signposted from the main highway at Ngakawau. The walkway follows the Ngakawau Gorge, past the lower section where remnants of the Ngakawau railway recall former times when timber and coal was shunted to the coast. In the steepest, most confined section of the gorge, watch out for the hardy daisy-like Celmisia morganii, which flowers from December to January. This is the only known habitat for this rare and protected species. A suspension bridge provides spectacular views up and down the gorge, and an unfolding view of the impressive Mangatini Falls, which is also visible from the track beyond the bridge. A 50m tunnel leads to a section of track called The Verandah, where views of the river and the Upper Gorge are accompanied by the dramatic sounds of white water thundering off the canyon walls. The track is easily walked in one direction if pick-up arrangements are made; otherwise a return walk is a great way to spend a day.
Okarito Lagoon
The coastal lagoon at Okarito lies 13 km from SH6, north of Franz Josef Township. It covers an area of about 12 km², and is the largest unmodified wetland in New Zealand. More than 76 different bird species visit to feed in the lagoon, including the famous kōtuku/white heron and royal spoonbills. The kōtuku is sacred to Māori and its only New Zealand breeding colony is north of the lagoon on the banks of the Waitangiroto River. The breeding site is situated in the Waitangiroto Nature Reserve, which is open from late October till the end of February. An entry permit is required to enter the Reserve, so taking a tour to the colony is a good option. Kayaking and kiwi-spotting night tours are also available, as well as forest walks, including the renowned Okarito Trig Walkway. Though there are places to stay at the small settlement of Okarito, it’s only a short drive from Franz Josef township. Most tours operate from Whataroa, 15km north of Franz Josef Township.
