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Looking for a slightly slower pace and a friendly face? Would you like to go where things are done just a little differently? The West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand might just be your ideal holiday destination.
The West Coast has always been New Zealand's pioneer frontier, its cultural 'heartland', and throughout time, the region has generated a fair share of legends and stories.
The region is populated by just 31,000 people, known as 'Coasters', a term synonymous with friendliness and hospitality. Isolated from the rest of New Zealand by the Southern Alps, Coasters have developed a distinctive culture of their own, where the pioneering values of self-reliance and hospitality are as strong today as they were 100 years ago.
Two of the world's most accessible glaciers, the Franz Josef and the Fox Glacier, create their grinding pathways here. With towering mountains, clear, clean rivers and lakes, dense rainforest, temperate coastal forests, diverse wetlands, accessible glaciers, wild beaches and long captivating caves, the West Coast is a wonderland of natural opportunities just waiting to be explored.
The West Coast is captivating all year round. Although the peak season for tourism is from mid October to the end of April, the winter months are relatively mild compared to other parts of the South island, due to warmer currents of the Tasman Sea. Winter weather on the West Coast is usually settled, with crisp mornings, blue skies and snow on the mountain tops, giving the region that wonderful fresh alpine feel.
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