Paparoa National Park

Greymouth is the major town on the West Coast. In New Zealand, the 'West Coast' generally refers to the narrow strip of land between the South Island's Southern Alps and the Tasman Sea.

Most spectacular is the coastal wilderness along the scenic West Coast Road. Located between Westport and Greymouth, the Paparoa National park contains scenery of distinctive quality, ecosystems of outstanding scientific interest, and beautiful and unique natural features. These result form an unusual combination of natural history, geological history and climate which has created an area which has no parallel in New Zealand and perhaps worldwide. It is also memorable for a wild coastline, lush rain forest, bizarre limestone landscapes and caves that allow for underground rafting.

Paparoa National Park covers 30,000 hectares (120 square miles) of very wild land in the northern Westland area. It was created in1987 to reserve this land from mining and forestry exploitation. It was also the first of the 'scientific' national parks of New Zealand, and its boundaries were carefully chosen to encompass a complete range of ecosystems. The landscape presents great contrasts, from the granite and gneiss summits of the Paparoa Range, across the forest-clad canyons and karst of the limestone lowlands, and down to the coastal cliffs with the maze and blowholes of the Pancake Rocks.

In the townships of Westport, Greymouth and Hokitika, visitors can learn about the historic gold rush, the coal mining and the life of the early settlers. A range of local craft galleries exhibit hand blown glass, gold nugget jewelery, wood craft and New Zealand jade, known as Greenstone or Pounamu – a local treasure sourced from the West Coast's raging mountain rivers.

Greymouth is also the terminus for the scenic TranzAlpine rail journey, from Christchurch across the Southern Alps. South of Greymouth is Hokitika, which was first settled in 1860, after the discovery of gold on the west coast. It still has the feel of a 'frontier town', and there are some lovely old buildings to admire. Greenstone is the town's treasure these days – visitors can see it being polished and sculpted.