The West Coast () is a
region of New Zealand on the west coast of the
South Island
The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...
. It is administered by the West Coast Regional Council, and is known co-officially as Te Tai Poutini. It comprises the
territorial authorities of
Buller District,
Grey District
Grey District is a Districts of New Zealand, district in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast Region of New Zealand that covers Greymouth, Runanga, New Zealand, Runanga, Blackball, New Zealand, Blackball, Cobden, New Zealand, Cobden, and settl ...
and
Westland District
Westland District is a territorial authority district on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is administered by the Westland District Council. The district's population is
History
Westland was originally a part of Canterbury ...
. The principal towns are
Westport,
Greymouth
Greymouth () (Māori language, Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast List of regions in New Zealand, region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The populat ...
and
Hokitika. The region, one of the more remote areas of the country, is also the most sparsely populated. With a population of just 32,900 people, the West Coast is the least populous region in New Zealand. The population in the region grew by 0.4% over the year to July 2023.
The region has a rich and important history. The land itself is ancient, stretching back to the
Carboniferous period
The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Permian Period, Ma. It is the fifth and penultimate perio ...
; this is evident by the amount of carboniferous materials naturally found there, especially
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal i ...
. First settled by
Kāi Tahu in approximately 1200 AD, the area was famous across New Zealand for its richness in
pounamu
Pounamu is a term for several types of hard and durable stone found in the South Island of New Zealand. They are highly valued in New Zealand, and carvings made from pounamu play an important role in Māori culture.
Name
The Māori word ...
greenstone. Kāi Tahu traded millions of modern
New Zealand dollar
The New Zealand dollar (; currency sign, sign: $; ISO 4217, code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New Zeal ...
s' worth of the stone across
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, making Te Tai Poutini one of the wealthiest regions in the country.
After the arrival of Europeans, the region became famed for its vast and mostly untapped
gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
reserves, which historically had not been highly valued. The region was subsequently settled by thousands of
Irish Catholics
Irish Catholics () are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland, defined by their adherence to Catholic Christianity and their shared Irish ethnic, linguistic, and cultural heritage.The term distinguishes Catholics of Irish descent, particul ...
after the
Irish Famine, who constitute the majority of the population, alongside the indigenous Kāi Tahu and those who come from admixing between the two populations. The region was also heavily sought after by
nuclear weapons states
Nine sovereign states are generally understood to possess nuclear weapons, though only eight formally acknowledge possessing them. Five are considered to be nuclear-weapon states (NWS) under the terms of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation ...
in the 1950s for its abundant resources of
uranium
Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...
, which many West Coasters found objectionable. The West Coast is the only region of New Zealand where
coal mining
Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...
is still widely practiced.
Naming
The name ''Westland'' is used by some New Zealanders to refer to the whole of the West Coast, including
Grey District
Grey District is a Districts of New Zealand, district in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast Region of New Zealand that covers Greymouth, Runanga, New Zealand, Runanga, Blackball, New Zealand, Blackball, Cobden, New Zealand, Cobden, and settl ...
,
Buller District and
Fiordland
Fiordland (, "The Pit of Tattooing", and also translated as "the Shadowlands"), is a non-administrative geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the western third of Southland. Most of F ...
, and can also refer to the short-lived
Westland Province
The Westland Province was a province of New Zealand from 1873 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. The capital was Hokitika.
Area and history
The area was part of Canterbury Province when the provinces were created in 1853. B ...
of 1873–76.
Fiordland
Fiordland (, "The Pit of Tattooing", and also translated as "the Shadowlands"), is a non-administrative geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the western third of Southland. Most of F ...
is on the west coast, but is in the
Southland Region
Southland () is New Zealand's southernmost region. It consists of the southwestern portion of the South Island and includes Stewart Island. Southland is bordered by the culturally similar Otago Region to the north and east, and the West Coast ...
rather than the West Coast Region.
Inhabitants of the West Coast are colloquially known as "Coasters".
Geography

The region reaches from
Kahurangi Point in the north to
Awarua Point in the south, a distance of . It has an area of 23,246 km
2. To the west is the
Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who in 1642 wa ...
(which like the
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the world ocean, generally taken to be south of 60th parallel south, 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is the seco ...
can be very rough, with four-metre swells common), and to the east are the
Southern Alps
The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) are a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand, New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The n ...
. Much of the land is rugged, with a coastal plain where much of the population resides. It is divided into the three
local government districts
The districts of England (officially, local authority districts, abbreviated LADs) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the structure of local government in England is not uniform, there ...
of (from north to south)
Buller,
Grey
Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered s ...
and
Westland.

The land has wild coastlines, mountains and a very high proportion of native
bush, much of it native temperate
rain forest
Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...
. It is the only part of New Zealand where significant tracts of lowland forest remain: elsewhere, for instance on the
Canterbury Plains and in the
Firth of Thames
The Firth of Thames () is a large bay located in the north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the firth of the rivers Waihou and Piako, the former of which was formerly named the Thames River, and the town of Thames lies on its south ...
, they have been almost completely destroyed for settlement and agriculture.
Scenic areas include the
Haast Pass,
Fox and
Franz Josef Glaciers,
Hokitika Gorge,
Lake Brunner
Lake Brunner ( or ) is the largest lake in the West Coast Region of New Zealand, located southeast of Greymouth. The main settlement, Moana, New Zealand, Moana, is on its northern shore. It is an important settlement and waystation for local M ...
, the
Pancake Rocks at
Punakaiki, the
Oparara Arches and the
Heaphy Track.
The region has very high rainfall due to the prevailing northwesterly wind pattern and the location of the Southern Alps, which give rise to heavy
orographic
Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain. Orography (also known as ''oreography'', ''orology,'' or ''oreology'') falls within the broader disc ...
precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...
. The
rain shadow
A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side.
Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...
effect is responsible for the relatively arid climate of the Canterbury Plains on the other side of the Southern Alps.
*
History

The region is home to
Ngāi Tahu
Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori people, Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim, New Zealand, Blenhe ...
, who value it for the
greenstone (pounamu) found there in abundance.
The region was only occasionally visited by Europeans until the discovery of
gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
near the Taramakau River in 1864 by two Māori, Ihaia Tainui and Haimona Taukau. By the end of the year there were an estimated 1800 prospectors, many of them around the Hokitika area, which in 1866 was briefly the most populous settlement in New Zealand.
The region was divided between
Nelson Province
Nelson Province was constituted in 1853 under the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, and originally covered the entire upper South Island, including all of present-day Buller District, Buller, Kaikoura District, Kaikoura, Marlborough District, ...
and
Canterbury Province from 1853: in 1873 the Canterbury portion of the region formed its own province, the
Westland Province
The Westland Province was a province of New Zealand from 1873 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. The capital was Hokitika.
Area and history
The area was part of Canterbury Province when the provinces were created in 1853. B ...
, until the abolition of the provincial system in 1876.
The
West Coast gold rush
The West Coast gold rush, on the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast of New Zealand's South Island, lasted from 1864 to 1867.
Description
The gold rush populated the area, which up until then had been visited by few Europeans. Gold was found ...
between 1864 and 1867 created numerous gold rush towns such as Ōkārito, which at one time was the largest town on the West Coast but quickly almost vanished as miners moved on. After that time, the population dwindled, but the main towns that still exist had become established.
Following greenstone and gold, the next valuable mineral was coal. Discovered near the
Buller River
The Buller River () is a river in the South Island of New Zealand. The Buller has the highest flow of any river in the country during floods, though it is only the 13th longest river; it runs for from Lake Rotoiti (Tasman), Lake Rotoiti throu ...
in the mid-1840s, mining began in earnest during the 1860s. By the 1880s coal had become the region's main industry, with mines throughout the northern half of the region, especially around
Westport. Many of these continued in operation until the mid-20th century, and several survive.
Timber has also long been a major industry, although in recent years there has been an uneasy balance between forestry for wood and forestry for conservation. Much of the region is public land administered by the
Department of Conservation and the region has some of the best remaining stands of native forest, along with a wealth of rare wildlife.
Ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...
is now an important industry, and this goes hand in hand with the conservation efforts.
Population
The West Coast Region covers
and has an estimated population of as of , % of New Zealand's population. It is the least populous of New Zealand's sixteen regions.
The West Coast is also the most sparsely populated region, with just people per square kilometre ( per square mile).
West Coast Region had a population of 33,390 in the
2023 New Zealand census
The 2023 New Zealand census, which took place on 7 March 2023, was the thirty-fifth national census in New Zealand. It implemented measures that aimed to increase the Census' effectiveness in response to the issues faced with the 2018 census, i ...
, an increase of 1,815 people (5.7%) since the
2018 census, and an increase of 1,242 people (3.9%) since the
2013 census. There were 17,031 males, 16,245 females and 117 people of
other genders in 14,793 dwellings. 2.7% of people identified as
LGBTIQ+. The median age was 48.1 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 5,448 people (16.3%) aged under 15 years, 4,518 (13.5%) aged 15 to 29, 15,861 (47.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 7,563 (22.7%) aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 89.7%
European (
Pākehā
''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...
); 13.5%
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
; 1.6%
Pasifika; 4.0%
Asian; 0.5% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 4.3% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 98.0%, Māori language by 2.3%, Samoan by 0.2% and other languages by 5.6%. No language could be spoken by 1.5% (e.g. too young to talk).
New Zealand Sign Language
New Zealand Sign Language or NZSL () is the main language of the deaf community in New Zealand. It became an official language of New Zealand in April 2006 under the New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006. The purpose of the act was to create rights ...
was known by 0.5%. The percentage of people born overseas was 13.2, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 29.8%
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, 0.6%
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
, 0.2%
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, 0.3%
Māori religious beliefs
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
, 0.4%
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
, 0.7%
New Age
New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...
, 0.1%
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, and 1.2% other religions. People who answered that they had
no religion were 57.8%, and 9.0% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 2,658 (9.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 15,825 (56.6%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 8,490 (30.4%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $32,700, compared with $41,500 nationally. 1,956 people (7.0%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 12,819 (45.9%) people were employed full-time, 4,101 (14.7%) were part-time, and 687 (2.5%) were unemployed.
Cities and towns
There are only four towns with a population over 1,000:
Greymouth
Greymouth () (Māori language, Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast List of regions in New Zealand, region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The populat ...
,
Westport,
Hokitika and
Runanga. These four towns, plus
Reefton
Reefton is a small town in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast region of New Zealand, approximately northeast of Greymouth, New Zealand, Greymouth, in the Inangahua River valley. Ahaura is south-west of Reefton, Inangahua Junction is to ...
(population ), are recognised as urban areas by Statistics New Zealand.
During the gold rush days, Hokitika had a population of more than 25,000 with more than 100
pub
A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...
s. A recreation of an
early New Zealand settlement is at
Shantytown.
Other towns and settlements include:
*
Ahaura
*
Blackball
*
Fox Glacier
Fox Glacier (; officially Fox Glacier / Te Moeka o Tuawe) is a temperate maritime glacier located in Westland Tai Poutini National Park on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. Like nearby Franz Josef Glacier, Fox Glacier is one of th ...
*
Granity
*
Haast
*
Hari Hari
*
Kaniere
*
Kumara
*
Ngakawau
*
Ross
*
Waimangaroa
File:Greymouth Town Clock.jpg, Greymouth
Greymouth () (Māori language, Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast List of regions in New Zealand, region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The populat ...
File:Hokitika Clock Tower.jpg, Hokitika
File:Westport Municipal Chambers 2019.jpg, Westport
File:TWC Reefton • Stewart Nimmo • MRD 3.jpg, Reefton
Reefton is a small town in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast region of New Zealand, approximately northeast of Greymouth, New Zealand, Greymouth, in the Inangahua River valley. Ahaura is south-west of Reefton, Inangahua Junction is to ...
Regional council
The West Coast Region is governed by the West Coast Regional Council. Currently, it is chaired by Peter Haddock.
Councillors
* Brett Cummings
* Allan Birchfield
* Andy Campbell
* Chris Coll
* Mark McIntyre
* Peter Ewen
Economy
The subnational
gross domestic product
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...
(GDP) of the West Coast was estimated at NZ$2,373 million in the year to March 2022, 0.7% of New Zealand's national GDP. The regional GDP per capita was estimated at $72,127 in the same period.
The region had one of the strongest growing regional economies of New Zealand in 2022, though from a rather small base.
Industries include
mining
Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...
for
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal i ...
and
alluvial
Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...
gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
,
forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...
and wood processing,
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...
(including
whitebait
Whitebait is a collective term for the immature fry of fish, typically between long. Such young fish often travel together in schools along coasts, and move into estuaries and sometimes up rivers where they can be easily caught using fine-mes ...
ing),
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
and farming.
Dairy farming has grown strongly – the local dairy co-operative
Westland Milk Products remained independent when most others merged to form
Fonterra in 2001. In the 2019–2020 season, there were 150,000 milking cows on the West Coast, 3.0% of the country's total herd. The cows produced 50,700 tonnes of milk solids, worth $365 million at the national average farmgate price ($7.20 per kg).
Other industries are the manufacturing and sales of
greenstone jewellery,
sphagnum moss
''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store water, since ...
gathering and stone-collection for garden landscaping.
Monteith's
Monteith's Brewery Company was originally a family-owned brewing company until it was bought by DB Breweries. It continued to brew its beers on the West Coast of New Zealand until DB decided that the cost of keeping production there was no lo ...
brewery is in Greymouth.
The region has been included in the "Top 10 Coastal Drives of the World" by ''
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books.
History
20th century
Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen Wheeler, Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 19 ...
''.
Flora and fauna
The region has the only New Zealand nesting place of the
kōtuku (white heron), at the
Waitangiroto Nature Reserve, visited by tours from the small farming township of
Whataroa. This rare bird appears on the $2 coin.
New Zealand Coinage Specifications
(from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) () is the central bank of New Zealand. It was established in 1934 and is currently constituted under the ''Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 2021''. The current acting governor of the Reserve Bank, Christian ...
website. Accessed 2008-03-26.)
The region is recorded as having over 175 taxa of marine algal flora from historic and recent collections in the region. Significant features of the region's algal flora are hard to discern on the basis of existing knowledge, but include the virtual absence of some common New Zealand species, and extensions to the known distribution of others.
Over 80% of West Coast land is administered by the Department of Conservation, much of this being in National Parks. These include from north to south, parts of Kahurangi NP, Paparoa NP, parts of Arthurs Pass NP, Westland NP, parts of Aspiring NP plus the South Westland World Heritage Area. Each of these parks have flora and fauna common to all areas, as well as species, like kiwi, particular to those areas.
Transport
Four roads run into the West Coast Region. The main road running the length of the region is State Highway 6. It connects to the Tasman District
Tasman District () is a local government district in the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand. It borders the Canterbury Region, West Coast Region, Marlborough Region and Nelson City. It is administered by the Tasman District Council ...
in the north through the Buller Gorge, and to Otago
Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...
in the south via Haast Pass. Two roads connect to Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
to the east, State Highway 7 through Lewis Pass
Lewis Pass is the northernmost of the three main mountain passes through the Southern Alps in the South Island of New Zealand. With an elevation of 907 metres, it is slightly lower than Arthur's Pass and higher than Haast Pass.
The pass is ...
to North Canterbury and State Highway 73 via Arthur's Pass
Arthur's Pass, previously called Camping Flat then Bealey Flats, and for some time officially Arthurs Pass, is a township in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand, located in the Selwyn district. It is a popular base for explori ...
to Christchurch
Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
.
The Midland railway line is the only railway line into the region. It links to Christchurch via Arthur's Pass. The TranzAlpine
The TranzAlpine is a passenger train operated by the Great Journeys New Zealand division of KiwiRail in the South Island of New Zealand over the Midland Line, New Zealand, Midland Line; often regarded to be one of the world's great train jour ...
train service runs return between Christchurch and Greymouth daily and freight lines extend to Ngākawau and Hokitika.
Daily passenger flights operate into the region. Air New Zealand flies between Christchurch and Hokitika and Sounds Air between Wellington
Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
and Westport.
See also
*Public transport in New Zealand
Urban bus transport is the main form of public transport in New Zealand. Two of the country's largest cities, Auckland and Wellington, also have Commuter rail, suburban rail systems, while some cities also operate local ferry services. There are ...
* Water pollution in the West Coast, New Zealand
References
External links
West Coast Regional Council
West Coast New Zealand
Development West Coast
Map (1900s) of West Coast
*
West Coast Marine Protection Forum
{{Authority control
West Coast Region
Regions of New Zealand