The fun of a West Coast holiday begins with a journey through the Southern Alps. A 600 km long, incredibly straight wall of mountains locks the Coast into an exclusive climate zone and eco-system. Ancient Maori greenstone (jade) trails were the only land links with the rest of New Zealand 150 years ago.
Be sure to visit New Zealand’s only white heron (kotuku) nesting colony. It’s a neat experience observing these magnificent birds, which are supremely graceful and elegant in all their movements. The colony of 150 white herons, royal spoonbills and little shags is found in the Waitangiroto Nature Reserve.
Virtually every rock-bound riverbed yields secrets of heritage gold diggings. Fossick in the loose gravels of any tumbling mountain stream on the Coast and you have a good prospect of winning a small ‘colour’. Visitors to the West Coast can have a personal experience of the 1860’s gold rush days at Shantytown.
The ‘Stone of the Gods’ was literally fashioned as the offspring of volcanoes, earthquakes and uplifted mountains. Greenstone, or ‘pounamu’ was prominent in ancient Maori mythology because of its vital importance as the medium for tool and weapon making.
Pull on a wetsuit and helmet, then launch your raft onto a fast-flowing river for the spine-tingling, heart-pounding ride of a lifetime. The wild West Coast has numerous short, steep rivers descending from the high country in the Southern Alps.
Freefalling at terminal velocity from a massive 19,500 feet over West Coast Glacier Country makes you feel alive in a spine-tingling, hair-raising sort of way. This is tandem skydiving at its heart thumping best. An adrenalin buzz with the added bonus of breathtaking views of the Southern Alps.
Stop and marvel at the perfect pancake rock stacks, which are piled high in giant columns and battered by ocean swells. Wonder at the seismic forces that thrust these mysteries of nature up from the seabed. Punakaiki is the gateway to the dramatic limestone country of the Paparoa National Park.
Riding the ‘Iron Road’ is a very romantic and exciting way to travel into West Coast Glacier Country. New Zealand’s most scenic railway line runs coast to coast from Christchurch to Greymouth, and is one of the world’s great railway journeys.
Hidden deep in the silent grottos of Oparara’s Honeycomb Caves are spellbinding limestone sculptures and slender skeletons of extinct creatures like the moa and giant eagle. But there’s still life in the darkest recesses of this alien world. A glow worm galaxy shimmers on the ceiling of the cave.
Step inside the perspex bubble of a sightseeing helicopter and rise like a phoenix into the bright shafts of sunlight falling on Glacier Country. The West Coast hills are alive with the sound of rotor blades thwacking through the crisp alpine air. And with good reason.
Welcome to the wild and wonderful West Coast of the South Island. DANNY : DE HEK has highlighted a number of ‘must see’ attractions to assist you in planning a great holiday in this fascinating part of the country.
