West Coast Wonders

During the Summer school holidays, I went on a road trip to the South Island (of New Zealand) with my family.
As part of our trip, we went to the West Coast, where we stayed in a town called Greymouth for a couple of days.
The West Coast is one of the most remote and sparsely populated regions in New Zealand and is home to some of New Zealand's most impressive natural features, such as the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and blowholes, Mount Cook and the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers.

The drive from Christchurch (where we were staying) to Greymouth is about three - four hours and takes you through some very spectacular and rugged terrain.
With the Aachen Motel in Greymouth as our base, we went out and did several day trips, visiting Shantytown, The Punakaiki Pancake rocks and blowholes, Franz Josef Glacier and Fox Glacier.

Shantytown is a Heritage Park located just out of Greymouth and is set up like a gold mining town in the 1800s.
At Shantytown, you can experience panning for gold, ride a working steam train and catch a glimpse of what life might have been like for the early settlers of gold mining towns.

Shantytown's steam train 'Gertie'

'Main road'

Inside 'Coronation Hall' 

 

 After Shantytown we made the drive to the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and Blowholes.
The rocks get their name due to the distinct layers in the rock, which makes them resemble stacks of pancakes.




Pancake Rocks

 

The day after Punakaiki and Shantytown, we visited the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers.
These glaciers are some of the most popular attractions on the whole of the West Coast.
Due to the enthusiasm of my parents, we visited both glaciers in the same day. As a result of the glacier receding over the past few decades, it is necessary to make a 30 minute trek (or what the signs claimed was 30 minutes) up to Fox Glacier and a 45 minute one up to Franz Josef. I am heinously unfit so this basically amounted to torture for me (especially as it was mostly up hill). Despite this, the views of glaciers were truly stunning.

A distant view of Franz Josef

Franz Josef close up

Waterfall on the walk to Franz Josef

Overall, I found the walk to Franz Josef pretty easy.
I found the walk to Fox a bit more traumatising, mainly because there were a LOT of massive boulders and rubble perched on the mountain just above the walking track.
They were accompanied by helpful signs warning you that straying off the path could result in DEATH.

Beware of all the rocks

Fox glacier

You could get guided tours onto the glacier itself, note the stairs

River which runs from the glacier
 



If you are ever in the West Coast, I would recommend visiting these places. They are amazing, and well worth any effort taken to get to them.