Photographic guide to New Zealand: West Coast

Photo gallery of West Coast

The West Coast region is one of the more remote and most sparsely populated areas of the country. However, it is very rich in interesting places. The land is very scenic, with wild coastlines, mountains, and a very high proportion of native bush, much of it native temperate rain forest. The West Coast is the only part of New Zealand where significant tracts of lowland forest remain.
Kahurangi National Park is situated in northwest, and it is the second largest of New Zealand's fourteen national parks. It is very remote place, but it is worth to come here, especially because of Oparara Valley/Oparara Basin. Only here around you can see so many groves of Nikau palm trees - the only palm species native to mainland New Zealand.

On the way south, everybody has to stop viewing extraordinary Pancakes Rocks and blowholes near Punakaiki, down southward then the two glaciers named Franz Josef and Fox, and not far from them anybody should not miss to try his/her luck on picturing Mount Cook and Mount Tasman reflecting in the New Zealand's most famous mirror lake - Lake Matheson.

The West Coast region includes also a half of the Routburn Track - one of the best tramping track that New Zealand offers. This "treasure" among tracks is unbelivably beautiful and it has its special and prior position among the other Great Walks, where it belongs to.