New on the West Coast this Summer
Seven great new reasons to explore the West Coast
New experiences, new activities and new destinations. Summer on the West Coast is looking exceptionally bright for 2024/25.
While any time is good, there’s probably never been a better time to visit the West Coast with the opening or completion of seven new and upgraded experiences — more than $100M of major developments — highlighting the region’s fascinating art, culture, history, geology and natural environment.
DISCOVER THE POUNAMU PATHWAY
A unique new visitor attraction has emerged in downtown Greymouth. Unveiled in late 2023, The Pounamu Pathway resembles a pokeka — the traditional Māori rain cape — and it shelters an outstanding cultural experience that’s a first for Aotearoa New Zealand.
The Pounamu Pathway is a series of storytelling hubs using immersive multi-sensory technology to explore the land and people of the Coast. It has been brought to life through a rich creative collaboration between local Ngāti Waewae and master digital storytellers Wētā Workshop.
The Māwhera Greymouth centre is both flagship and gateway to the Pounamu Pathway. When fully completed, it will feature four complementary visitor centres weaving together legends and tales of early Māori, the search for pounamu, the evolution of the identity and spirit of Te Tai o Poutini.
The second visitor centre is now also open in Kawatiri Westport in the former Coaltown Museum. The masterful reimagining of this museum highlights stories related to the region’s natural abundance: flora and fauna, pounamu, gold and coal. Two more exhibitions are scheduled for development in Franz Josef and Hokitika.
EXPERIENCE THE PIKE29 MEMORIAL TRACK
Much anticipated the Pike29 Memorial Track is a fantastic new dual mountain biking and walking trail, which opened in February 2024.
Starting northeast of Blackball, the 11.6 km trail — connecting the Paparoa Track Great Walk to the Pike River valley — is a challenging walk or ride through a spectacular landscape. The track rises 880m from the valley to the Paparoa Range ridgeline through luxuriant forest and alpine scrub.
The track was conceived as an enduring memory to the 29 men who died as a result of the 2010 Pike River mine disaster. As it winds between the valley floor and the tops of the range, it introduces visitors to the story of what happened at the Pike River Mine.
Not wanting to tackle the whole Pike29 track? An easy 15-minute walk from the Pike Valley car park leads to twin bridges within the forest.
TE KOPIKOPIKO O TE WAKA, FOX GLACIER
A major new work of art depicting a capsized Māori waka — Te Kopikopiko o te Waka — reveals an ancient legend and some of the most commanding views of Fox Glacier/Te Moeka o Tuawe.
The installation tells the traditional Ngāi Tahu story of how the ancestor Aoraki and his brothers failed in their mission to meet their new stepmother, Papatūānuku (the god of the earth), capsizing their canoe which transformed into the South Island and New Zealand’s tallest mountains. Today the South Island is known as Te Waipounamu (greenstone waters), but an older name is Te Waka o Aoraki.
Between Fox Glacier village and Gillespies Beach, Te Kopikopiko o te Waka is a pleasant lunch spot. The landscaped, accessible walkways around the larger-than-life carved Māori waka, draw the visitor’s eyes towards the glacier and Aoraki/Mt Cook.
Te Kopikopiko o te Waka belongs to the Tohu Whenua collection of significant historical and cultural sites managed by the Department of Conservation and Heritage New Zealand. Discover other Tohu Whenua sites on the West Coast.
BIKING THE KAWATIRI TRAIL
Perfect for year-round cycling, the Kawatiri Coastal Trail is set to be fully completed in 2025. Designed with families and leisurely cyclists in mind, the full 42-km 8-section trail will connect Westport with the historic gold mining settlement of Charleston.
Running alongside the rugged Tasman Sea with the majestic Paparoa Range as the backdrop, the trail offers stunning coastal views, wetlands and wildlife wonders. Boardwalks and suspension bridges add to the fun.
It’s easy to dip in for a day as the trail is split into sections, and there’s plenty of fun to be had off the bike too. Take a surf lesson at Tauranga Bay, spot seals on the Cape Foulwind Walkway and rare bats at dusk on the Ōkari Lagoon, or go underground for glow-worm grottoes in a fascinating cave system near Charleston.
Six of the 8 sections are now open offering a 27-km stretch from Westport to Virgin Flat. The final 1-km section at Charleston is also open.
REOPENED HEAPHY TRACK
Fully reopened after a major upgrade, the iconic 78-km Heaphy Track through Kahurangi National Park is better than it’s ever been with two impressive new suspension bridges for walkers and bikers doing the full journey.
From tussock-covered alpine downs to golden-sand coves fringed with nīkau palms, the Heaphy offers the greatest geographical contrasts of all the Great Walks. Not a hardcore hiker? Good news — you can still enjoy some of its treasures with easy short or day walks from the western trail head at Kohaihai Beach.
From sunny Karamea, it’s a short scenic drive to Kohaihai where you can take a two-hour return rainforest walk to a deserted, golden-sand beach — the perfect Great Walk taster. Hospitable Karamea has great little eateries, hotels, a resort and campgrounds. There are 26 walking tracks within easy reach of town.
Further south, Gentle Annie’s coastal camping beside the mighty Mokihinui River, has wood-fired hot tubs and a pizza oven.
DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF ŌPARARA ARCHES
Another Karamea beauty, the primaeval rainforests of the nearby Ōpārara Basin shelter some of Aotearoa’s most fascinating natural treasures, some hidden deep within a 35-million-year-old cave-system.
The waters of the Ōpārara River have gradually eroded the soft limestone, leaving behind giant arches and a vast network of caves. A short walk through bird-filled rainforest emerges at the largest of these natural sculptures – the Ōpārara Arch – towering 43 metres above the river.
But it’s not just the fern-filled forest that gives the Ōpārara Basin a distinctly pre-historic feel – fossilised remains of several species of moa and the fabled giant hōkioi (Haast’s eagle) ‘litter’ the extraordinary underworld of the Honeycomb Hill Caves. Take a guided tour from Karamea to rediscover these treasures.
Significant upgrades on the old logging road into the Ōpārara Basin mean visitors can now drive in to access the arches any day of the week.
OPENING SOON— DOLOMITE EXPERIENCE CENTRE, PUNAKAIKI
Follow the Great Coast Road – among the world’s most beautiful coastal drives – to the natural spectacle of the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and Blowholes. Watch powerful waves from the Tasman Sea blast, boom and spray their way through blowholes and underground arches beneath the pancake-stacked limestone rocks, sculpted by the elements over thousands of years.
A well-maintained walkway around the rocks makes it easy to explore nature’s dramatic display, and it’s soon to be complemented by a brand new visitor experience centre just across the road.
Developed by DOC but to be owned and run by local iwi Ngāti Waewae, the new sustainably-built experience centre will feature a visitor exhibition using groundbreaking technology to tell stories of Punakaiki and its people. A virtual wahine toa (female warrior) will welcome visitors to ‘The Paparoa Experience’ before they enter a world of immersive displays illuminating the region’s fascinating geological features, unique wildlife and cultural heritage.
The first stage — which includes the Department of Conservation Paparoa National Park Visitor Centre — is already open, while the multi-media exhibition completion is scheduled for later in summer 2024/25.
