Maori tribes came in search of Pounamu (greenstone/jade). Miners came in
search of gold. You will come in search of South Westland’s high snow capped
mountains, towering rain forests, dramatic coastline, grinding glaciers, surging
rivers and vast lakes. UNESCO has declared South West New Zealand a World
Heritage area. We declare that it is our special place and that we are
privileged to be able to live here and to welcome you.
As you travel through this area there are many towns and areas that place,
time and circumstance have made special. There is Ross, our northern most town
and home to the largest open cast alluvial gold mine in the Southern Hemisphere,
Harihari, with its spectacular views of the coastline and the towering Southern
Alps, the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers that you may view, or on which you may
take guided walks, scenic flights, skydives, helihikes and there is the mirror
lake of Lake Matheson.
There is the Wanganui River Valley where you may soak in hot water pools, La
Fontaine where you may fish for brown trout, Whataroa/Okarito where you may
view the magnificent White Heron (Kotuku), Paringa’s Chinook (King) salmon
farm, and Gillespie’s Beach where you may fish.
Welcome to South Westland.
