Beaches, lakes & coastline
Gillespies Beach
About
Gillespies Beach, out of Fox Glacier, offers a scenic drive, lovely views of the Southern Alps, an historic cemetery and many coastal walks.
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You can camp near an old gold mining settlement and seal colony. The walking tracks lead to historic gold mining suction and bucket dredges and the beuatiful Gillespies Lagoon.
At Fox Glacier township turn onto Cook Flat Road and follow the road to Gillespies Beach. Over half of the journey is on narrow, unsealed road so keep left and keep your speed to a minimum.
In 1865 a prospector named Gillespie discovered gold here. Soon, a settlement of several hundred people established.
By the 1920s, Gillespies was a ghost town, briefly revived from 1933 to 1946 when a large bucket-dredge mined the beach sands and the old town site.
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