The latest from the West Coast

At Lyell my walk started on a rare, flat stretch of ground where today there is a campsite and a toilet block. Once, some two thousand people lived in the area and some of the men tramped two kilometres through the bush to the Croesus Battery. I followed in their footsteps on a track above Lyell Creek now easy to follow thanks to the work of the Department of Conservation (DOC) and the tread of thousands of tourists. As I pushed on through the dank vegetation, carefully negotiating the tangled masses of tree roots, I was mindful of a warning from DOC to remain on the main tracks as there were decades of mining in the area and deep shafts lie beneath the undergrowth. Decayed and fallen trees lay above and below the track and the air was pungent with the smell of rot and humus.

Schedule changes for summer, coming into effect at the end of October.

The hatching season for the world’s rarest kiwi has started early in the South Island, with the arrival of the first rowi chick successfully hatched at the West Coast Wildlife Centre in Franz Josef early this morning.

Occupying the northern end of the South Island’s West Coast, how well do you know the Buller region? If you’re keen to tap deep into the heart and soul of Buller, you won’t find a more impressive local tour operator than Out West Tours.

In terms of travel goals, theirs was pretty epic.

Tourism West Coast needs your vote to win the People's Choice Award.