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westland tai poutini
Soar high above the sparkling
permanent snowfields, which feed giant ‘rivers of ice’
on New Zealand’s West Coast.
A scenic flight is one way to appreciate the majesty of the
snow-capped peaks of the Southern Alps, and the true scale of
their mighty glaciers.
Westland Tai Poutini National Park takes in all these features,
from the main divide to the pounding surf beaches and dramatic
headlands of the central West Coast. The Fox and Franz Josef
glaciers are a wonderful spectacle from the air, or from the
shaky ground beneath their tumbling terminal faces. Forever
locked in a climate-controlled series of advances and retreats,
they continue to move glacial debris down to the sea. These
age-old sediments are swept north to form the remarkable Farewell
Spit, a 30 km finger of shifting sands at northern tip of the
South Island.
The park is centred on the modern tourist villages of Fox and
Franz Josef, with both offering excellent information services
and a host of guided tours. Local walks are very worthwhile as
they offer superb alpine views, which are often reflected in
mirror lakes, and beautiful forests, rivers, and beaches. The Fox
circular walk around Lake Matheson is a must. This lake offers
New Zealand’s most famous panoramic reflection of Mts Cook
and Tasman. The River Walk and Gillespies Beach are also popular.
The Franz Josef short walks provide scenic gems, such as
Peter’s Pool and Sentinel Rock. Longer tramps reach superb
lookout points above both glaciers and take in other locations
further south including the Copland Valley.
Along the coast are scenic lakes and wetlands where you can see
coastal wading birds like the crested grebe and white heron
(kotuku), which is concentrated in a superbly scenic breeding
colony at the remote Okarito Lagoon.
Stay awhile and absorb the unsurpassed beauty of this unique
place where majestic snow-capped peaks and glaciers stand above
the very edge of the land.
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