If you've ever visited the West Coast of the South Island you'll know just how spectacular this rugged, green area of New Zealand is and how diverse and exciting the areas it covers are.
Below we'll run through how we spent 4 days over Easter, visiting a very small but beautiful part of the West Coast.
'Famous for it's greenstone, whitebait, rich mining history, vast green forests, and beautiful scenery everywhere you look, this small slice of paradise is a must visit in the South Island for all types of people. With plenty of walks, bikes, and many more activities you will need at least a few days to pack it all in depending on what you do and the unpredictable weather.
We believe 3-4 days is perfect! If you're wanting to travel the entire West Coast of the South Island we'd recommend at least a week as there is so much more than just Hokitika and Punakaiki.'
Accommodation:
Our stay at Blue Spur bed and breakfast was exactly what we needed, with a cooked breakfast each morning, clean accommodation, and plenty of advice from the owners, it was the perfect start to our mornings. Keep reading for our jam packed 4 day itinerary and recommendations!
How we spent our time:
Day 1 :
After arriving in Hokitika the previous evening, we got up early, packed our bags and headed for the Mount Brown Hut track to begin our second ever overnight hike. The hut at the top of Mount Brown only sleeps 4 people so we took a tent with us just in case. Luckily we were the first ones up to the hut for the day and didn’t need it!
The walk starts by a gentle river and is fairly easy for the first kilometre, before the hard work begins. The next 4 kilometres is a steep climb through bush and up tree roots (thankfully a pretty well marked track), then it winds round the mountain and opens up to tussocks before reaching the hut. Once we finally reached the hut we dropped off our packs, had a bagel for lunch then headed up towards the peak of the mountain for even better views. There was sadly no sunset nor a sunrise but we still managed a few photos of the hut before the rain came in.
There was another couple with their 6-year-old daughter in the hut (seriously impressive effort from the young one!) ,then a late arrival turned up with no tent and ended up happily sleeping on the floor of the hut. A lovely couple who tented had brought up a bag of coal for the fire and kindly let us use it so we were nice and snuggly at night not needing our sleeping bags.
Mt Brown video - Click here
Day 2 :
Our descent down the following day was certainly a bit different to the way up. It was extremely windy and had been raining throughout the night with no sign of it stopping any time soon, so we didn’t muck around. We ate breakfast and headed straight down without stopping. It took about 2.5 hours to get down to the carpark compared to 3.5 hours to get up. Thankfully it wasn’t cold at all which helped our moods!
Once down, we headed back to the accommodation for a hot shower and some lunch. The rain was still heavy but wanting to make the most of it we cruised into town for a coffee and walk along the beach. After a seriously tiring couple of days our evening consisted of watching Charlie and the Chocolate factory, playing sequence, and eating our easter eggs.
Day 3 :
After what felt like the best sleep ever (especially compared to the previous night) we enjoyed a sleep in, then got up for another delicious cooked breakfast and headed up the Coast to Punakaiki for the day. After an approximate 1 hour drive we arrived at Punakaiki.
The pancake rocks and blow hole was stop number one since it was high tide, we definitely recommend going at high tide if possible to witness the blowholes in all their glory! After a thoroughly enjoyable experienc we made our way to the Punakaiki Cavern walk in the caves, then did the Truman track walk down to the beach. If you have time, we recommend doing the Pororari River Track for a picnic lunch or just a gentle stroll along the river. On our way back to Hokitika we stopped off at the Sevenpenny Café in Greymouth which we would highly recommend as the food was absolutely delicious and the staff were super friendly!
After an already busy day next on the list was the Hokitika Gorge which is about an hour and a half from Punakaiki or 30 minutes from Hokitika. We arrived at around 4:30pm but earlier would have been more ideal for photography opportunities as the sun had pretty much gone behind the mountain at this point. One thing to remember here is to coat yourself in bug spray or even better – make sure all your skin is covered or the sandflies will eat you alive. Milo got 4 bites on her face plus about 20 on her ankles which swelled up and hung around for a couple of weeks after. Apart from those pesky bugs, this place is an absolute gem, and the water is just as blue as the pictures if there hasn’t been any rain for a while.
After enjoying a decent hour being eaten alive while capturing the shots we wanted at the gorge, we shot back to the bed and breakfast for dinner before going to visit glow worm dell. We visited the one on the main road, which interestingly enough is located just off the road in a forrest and not actually in a cave. There is a second glow worm spot called Rimu glow worm dell which is also pretty awesome.
Day 4 :
One last bit of exercise after indulging in a little bit too much easter chocolate the previous night was definitely a great way to spend our final morning. If you manage to get a sunny morning in Hokitika and have bikes, then the West Coast Wilderness Trail is absolutely amazing and can be done in small sections or as a full length multiple day cycle trip covering over 120 kilometres. We decided to ride a small section starting from Mahinapua Creek Section and riding back to our BnB via the township. It is an easy, peaceful ride, surrounded by trees and wildlife, and only took us around an hour to complete.
There was still still so much we wanted to do after 4 full on days of adventure.
Like kayaking down the Mahinapua Creek on a sunny day, doing the West Coast Tree Tops walk, and even just walking around Lake Kaniere. This area has truly got endless activities and an amazing source of adventures for anyone.
We had the most amazing time in Hokitika and it's surrounding areas and cannot wait to be back in the near future!
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Thanks very much Barb, we’re so glad you enjoyed it and also found it informative!
A really good summary of adventurous things to do on a short holiday for differing energy levels - easy to follow - well explained . This type of info from fellow kiwi traveller saves others a lot of time trying to find out what is do-able and the time-frame involved - great idea and well done :-)