Activities
Relax and refresh yourself with the pace of life on the Coast.
Enjoy our native bush and wildlife, unspoilt driftwood beaches and boutique art & craft shops.
Your Apartment is situated on the Hokitika River bank. The Heritage Trail from your doorstep winds through regenerating native bush. This wetland attracts numerous birds; the handsome Kotuku (White Heron), Blue Heron and Pied Shag are often seen fishing directly across from us.
Explore this ecosystem as you set out to see Hokitika. Hire a bicycle from us and follow the heritage trail for a few minutes along the riverfront down to the beach.
You will see the remnants of the Old Harbour, built to service the gold rush in the late 1800s. Hokitika was one of the busiest ports in Australasia. Visit the West Coast Historical Museum for more information.
Activities in Hokitika
"Driftwood and Sand" sculpture competition on the Hokitika Beach.
Hokitika Beach
Experience the pleasure of warm black sand between you toes.
West Coast beaches are strewn with wood. During heavy rain and floods the streams and rivers carry whole trees out to sea where the crashing surf crafts them into natural works of art. Marvel at the driftwood sculptures as you pick your way along the beach.
Sand hoppers live under the drying wood; they jump away when you lift a damp log, see if you can catch one.
Sort and collect beach pebbles of all colours, spots and stripes. Build sand castles and dig tunnels.
Take part in our annual "Driftwood and Sand" community sculpture event.
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Art and Craft
Wander through town to check out the Boutique Art and Craft shops.
The West Coast with stunning scenery and laid back atmosphere is a haven for artists, and Hokitika is the focal point.
Spend some time checking out the beautiful and inspiring range of locally made work.
The Wildfoods Festival, in March, transforms Hokitika into a Marrakech of culinary treats, live music and colourful home-grown creativity. Visitors flock here from around New Zealand and the World to be a part of this great family event. www.wildfoods.co.nz
Active Families
A fenced playground is only a block away at Cass Square.
Across the road, the riverside recreation park is a great place for children to explore and features a BMX track and Sports Field.
The heated swimming pool and spa is 500 meters away it has a safe paddling pool for little children and inflatable slides for bigger kids.
Short Evening Adventures
Endemic to NZ, these freshwater eels can live for over 80 years.
Possum and Eel Spotting
After dark join Rachel for some Possum and Eel spotting in the wetland across the road. We will go out with a strong spotlight looking in the trees for dark furry Australian Possums and looking in the water for slippery, slimy eels.
There is a family of Weka (native wood hens) that live just off the path, sometimes you can quietly creep up to watch them looking for bugs and worms. New Zealand's birds aren't very afraid of people and you can usually get quite close if you are careful not to frighten them.
See the Giant Eels at feeding time at the National Kiwi Centre.
Watch the sun sink into the sea
After your evening meal, take a pleasant stroll along the historic quayside to Sunset Point.
Climb the observation tower, or find a comfortable piece of driftwood to sit and witness the sun drop into the water. Once the sun has gone, turn around to see the mountains change colour from pink to blue.
Sometimes, if you're lucky, when the waves crash on a moonlit night the Phosphorescent plankton in the water light up.
Glow Worms
Glow worms are grubs that live in dark wet caves or in deep dark forest. They spin long silk tubes to live in and at night they hang sticky fishing lines down and make little green lights to attract and catch flying insects. At the Glow Worm Dell in Hokitika (free and open access) you walk up a dark path to the bottom of a small waterfall festooned in Glow Worms like a galaxy of green stars.
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Half Day Activities
See a Real Live Kiwi
You have a special opportunity to see Live Kiwis at the National Kiwi Centre in Hokitika.
Wild Kiwi tours are available in Okarito to have the unique and spine tingling experience of meeting them in the wild.
Kiwi are very rare and hard to see in the wild because they are only active at night and sleep all day. Kiwis eat worms and bugs which they find with their long pointy beak. Their nostrils are at the end of their beak and you can hear them blowing their nose as they poke about in the soil. The Kiwi Enclosure at the National Kiwi Centre in Hoktiika is dark to make the Kiwi think it's night time, you might find it hard to see the birds until your eyes adjust to the dark, see who can find the birds first. More info about the Kiwi
The Kiwi Centre also has a Tuatara exhibition where you can get a good look at a "living fossil". The Tuatara is an ancient reptile, they havent changed much since before the time of the Dinosaurs. NZ is the only place in the world where Tuatara survive but they are under threat, much like the Kiwi, from introduced feral animals like rats. More info about the Tuatara
Lake Mahinapua: Family picnics and swimming in the warm shallow water.
Lake Mahinapua
Lake Mahinapua is a shallow mirror lake, ideal for picnics. No motor craft.
The warm, shallow waters of Lake Mahinapua are a favourite swimming spot for locals on hot summer days.
Lake Mahinapua is completely surrounded by Native Forest. Tall Kahikatea trees grow in the swampy wetlands where the Mahinapua creek begins its journey out to sea. Dense growth extends right down to the waters edge. Reeds and water lilies decorate the shallows.
The expanse of grass and the multitude of short bush walks make this an ideal spot for family barbeque where children can literally run wild.
Native birdlife is plentiful in this spot, the Bellbird Walkway winds through dappled shade beneath a canopy of treeferns;
small friendly fantails swoop and dive around you as you explore.
The beautiful song of the Bellbird echoes through the canopy although they are very hard to see. You may even meet a Weka (wood hen) strolling along the path looking for grubs with their beady orange eyes. If you keep quiet and still, they will often ignore your prescence and continue their lunch.
Sometimes a beautiful White Heron will stand like a statue on the waters edge watching and waiting to catch the small fish that live amongst the reeds and lilies.
The lake is often dotted with sailboats and kayaks from the Mahinapua Yacht Club.
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Lake Kaniere
The pressure caused by the Australian Tectonic Plate slowly sliding beneath the Pacific Plate creates the magnificent peaks of the Southern Alps. Lake Kaniere is a deep, clean lake formed by this folding of the landscape. The fault line (demarcation between Pacific and Australian plates) cuts a straight path between mountains just behind the lake. The forests are primeval and awesome, cascading from mountain peaks right down to touch the lake surface.
Lake Kaniere is popular for water skiing, swimming, fishing and canoeing.
There are bush walks for all fitness levels and time constraints;
- 15 minute loop track at Sunny Bight
- 4 hour walk along the uninhabited lake shore
- For the very keen, scale Mt Tahua (7 hr return) for stunning panoramic views of the alps and the coastline.
Hire a bicycle from us and cruise along the quiet roads listening to birdsong.
Mananui Bush Walk
Plunge into lush native forest, followed by friendly fantail birds that swoop and dive to catch the small insects disturbed as you walk through the leaf litter. Wind your way around mossy trunks of Kahikatea and tree fern towards the sea. At the edge of the forest; flax bushes and flowering gorse urge you on until you climb a sand dune and emerge onto a vast untouched beach.
This walk takes only 10 minutes and you will have this whole stretch of sandy beach to yourself. The driftwood strewn black sand of West Coast beaches are famous for their wild, pounding surf.
Lose yourself in this ancient, raw environment.
Gold Town Ross
Step back in time to the Pioneer days when adventurers from all around the world descended on this small area to seek fortune and fame. Ross is a sleepy little town with a big Gold Rush History. Try your hand at gold panning and explore the old workings and the picturesque early miners' cemetery on the hill. www.ross.org.nzDay Trips
Hokitika is central to the West Coast.
Day trips are easily made from your apartment north, south or east to World Class natural attractions.
Rachel and Tamra in Ice caves on the Fox Glacier.
The Glaciers - Westland National Park World Heritage Area
Rivers of ice squeeze out of enormous basins high in the Southern Alps. The Franz and Fox Glaciers are a unique attraction. The only other glacier that emerges into lush temperate rainforest is in far south Argentina (more than just a day trip).
My little sister Tamra is a Guide on the Fox Glacier. She enjoys climbing up the valley's walls to step out onto the ice, although by far the most exciting way to reach the glacier is to fly up in a helicopter and land amongst dramatic blue ice caves and crevasses.
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Pancake Rocks - Paparoa National Park
Drive along one of the most spectacular coastal highways in the world to Punakaiki and the Pancake Rocks.
Formed from layers of sediment on the sea floor these rocks were raised by the tectonic movements that formed the Southern Alps. Millions of years of sea erosion has left unusual stacks of rock, dramatic surge pools and spectacular blow holes.
The Punakaiki craft gallery is a must see collection of fascinating and beautiful works.
Kotuku Sanctuary - Waitangi Roto Nature Reserve
White Heron Breeding grounds and Sanctuary can be experienced just an hour south of your apartment.
Enjoy the thrilling jet boat ride to the remote and restricted Kotuku and Royal Spoonbill nesting area.
Raised walkways lead to hides amongst the trees for a close up, birds' eye view of the majestic white herons and their chicks.
Whataroa is a rugged dairy farming community nestled between steep untouched mountains and the wild Tasman Sea.
Alpine Exploring - Arthurs Pass National Park
Travel through a wonderland of steep sided rainforest valleys, snow capped mountains and brazen Alpine Parrots.
Take the fabulous TranzAlpine train journey up into the mountains to the quaint Arthurs Pass Village.
An unexpected feature of this mountainous landscape are the hot springs hidden away in the forest. Visit the Information centre for details on where to find them.
Private Golf Course
Imagine a golf course in your backyard...
That's exactly what Trevor and Gail did ten years ago on their property nestled under the Paparoa ranges. With hard work and force of will they created an idyllic recreational getaway surrounded by natural forest and birdlife. Wild deer graze on the fairways at dusk. Clubs are provided and tuition is available for beginners.
Trevor is an author and collector of local oral histories and adventures. (and volunteer organiser of the Moonlight Barn Dance)
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Guided Trips
We have spent recent years travelling and working in Europe and other parts of the world.
Our experience helps us be more responsive to your travel requirements.
Let us show you around our Home.
Benefit from local knowledge of a 5th generation West Coaster as you experience highlights of a rural lifestyle.
Discover the real West Coast through our Whanau (family). Our sisters, cousins, aunties and childhood friends provide a unique window into the rugged lifestyle of Westland.
Contact us to discuss options for some great experiences tailored to your interests or try something you have never done!