Destination West Coast: Making the most of your West Coast Adventure


Sunrise to sunset, cooler days on the West Coast are laden with golden promise. Here are three ways to enjoy the Coast:

1. Family holiday getaway: Got bikes, must ride?
Westport is the start of the Coast’s newest adventure, known as the family-friendly Kawatiri Coastal Trail.
Between the wild Tasman Sea coastline and the looming Paparoa Range, the grade 2 riding is gentle. Fully open from 22 March 2025, discover eight sections or 40km of great riding and walking between Westport and Charleston. Ride from Westport or join from multiple access points en route. kawatiricoastaltrail.co.nz

Image: Kawatiri Coastal Trail by Nomad Audio & Video

2. Easy romantic weekender: Fly in, train out
Easy in, easy out. Fly into Hokitika, pick up a rental car, take the TranzAlpine scenic train back to Christchurch (or vice versa). From Hokitika’s friendly little airport, it’s an easy drive to the Hokitika Gorge, around picturesque Lake Brunner or up the Great Coast Road from Greymouth to Punakaiki. Base yourself at one or mix it up at any of the smart, upmarket accommodations like the gracious Lake Brunner Eco Lodge where you can do your star gazing from the hot tub in the trees.

Image: Haast, West Coast, by Stewart Nimmo

3. Intrepid adventures: Find your wild
Westland, the southern end of the West Coast, is where epic adventures are made. Drive in from the south on the spectacular Haast Rd or from Hokitika via the glaciers, to experience some of Aotearoa’s most impressive wilderness landscapes.
Haast village is the gateway to the UNESCO-recognised Te Wahipounamu – Southwest New Zealand. There are no roads and few trails into these vast, inaccessible mountainous landscapes yet visitors can get a true taste of wild on a jet boat river safari or a scenic helicopter flight. Navigate a boulder-strewn wilderness river into virgin forests or alight from a helicopter onto the banks of an alpine lake.
westcoast.co.nz

 


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