Reefton is the northern gateway from Christchurch or Nelson, the Town of First Light - first public electricity supply in Southern Hemisphere. 

The Reefton Goldrush in the 1860s created much of the character, charm and history you see in the township and surrounding areas today. 

The town itself became established about 1870 and with mining came technology and innovation.

Have a brew of billy tea with The Bearded Miners. Join Around the Globe Gold Mine Tour. Visit Blacks Point Museum and Waiuta - NZ’s richest gold mine ghost town.

Westport – (via the stunning Buller Gorge) Don’t miss Coal Town Museum, take the Denniston Experience underground mine trip and explore the Denniston Incline and Plateau’s coal mining ghost towns. 

Take some extra time while in Westport and enjoy a day on the Stockton open cast coalmine or in the Awakari Valley backcountry on Johnny’s Journey with Outwest Tours.

Special Optional Extra: take two or three days and visit Karamea. Call in on the Northern Buller Museum at Granity, the old coal mining town of Millerton and walk the Charming Creek track along a former coal and milling railway line. In Karamea visit the Museum, Estuary Walk depicting river and port history and Oparara Basin with spectacular limestone arches and caves. 

Stay: Westport or Greymouth

Greymouth (via Great Coast Road). Stop in at Mitchells’ Gully Gold Mine, take a wander around the old gold town and port of Charleston, view the Rūnanga Miners Hall (under restoration), Greymouth’s Left Bank Art Gallery National Contemporary Pounamu Collection, History House, Miners’ Memorials, Flood Wall Walkway, Coal River Park, Port Cranes and Breakwaters.

From Greymouth visit the Brunner Coal Mine and Industrial Site – site of New Zealand’s worst mine disaster, Blackball and the Museum of Working Class history, Shantytown Heritage Park, Kumara Premier King Dick Seddon’s Gold Town, restored Theatre Royal Hotel and on around the 1865 Gold Trail through gold rush ghost towns of Goldsborough and Stafford (mine tunnels, walks and historic cemetery).

Hokitika Goldfields Capital and Port, Museum, Guided Town Walk, heritage quayside, streets and buildings, Westland Industrial Heritage Park, first New Zealand airline memorial, and artisans working gold, pounamu, precious stones, wood, metals and glass. Discover the pounamu (greenstone) story with Arahura Greenstone Tours.

To Franz Josef / Fox Glacier. Visit Rimu / Woodstock Hill Goldfields Lookout and Heritage Site, at Ross pan for gold and walk the Goldfields, take a break at Hari Hari’s First Trans-Tasman Flight Memorial, at Whataroa join Alpine Fault Tours, stand between the continental plates and see how the Southern Alps were formed, visit the peaceful Okarito goldrush town and port with lagoon and heritage tours, historic wharf shed, Donovans gold rush era store, coastal pack track and stunning views of the Southern Alps and glacial landscape formations from the trig station.

Then on to the Glaciers.

Return to Christchurch via Hokitika and Otira / Arthur’s Pass Alpine Highway or travel on to Wanaka via Haast stopping at Ship Creek historic area and Haast Visitor Centre (settlement and highway heritage displays) and venturing south to Jackson Bay (historic cemetery, wharf and walks).

To explore more, pick any location above, go to our Heritage & History page and view all the attractions these towns have to offer.