Upper South Island and the West Coast Features

Upper South Island and the West Coast Features

• Farewell Spit
  

  A 35-km (22-mi) protected sandbar with a 19th-century lighthouse, Farewell Spit is renowned for its tremendous seabird population.... read more

• Top Reasons to Go to Upper South Island and the West Coast
  

  Mountains and Glaciers: The South Island is piled high with mountains that divide the island lengthwise. You can walk or ski them, or catch a... read more

• Kahurangi National Park
  

  Kahurangi is a vast wilderness area of deep river valleys, thick beech forest, and high marble mountains. Helicopters are dwarfed by house-sized... read more

• Kahurangi National Park
  

  read more

• Nelson Lakes National Park
  

  Snow-covered peaks and high alpine passes loom over two deep brooding lakes. Dense native forest, swampy wetlands, and tumbling rivers line the... read more

• Nelson Lakes National Park
  

  read more

• Paparoa National Park
  

  Towering granite cliffs and stacks of pancake rocks, dark tannin-stained rivers edged by virgin kahikatea forest, karst landscapes riddled with... read more

• Paparoa National Park
  

  read more

• Westland National Park
  

  Gigantic blocks of ice tumbling off the glacier face; ice fields higher up the glacier, their blue ice sparkling in the sunlight; rugged peaks... read more

• Westland National Park
  

  read more

• A Close Encounter with Dolphins
  

  Near the inner entrance to Tory Channel, Dan, the boatman, skillfully brought the boat around as six of us slid into the water right beside a... read more

• French Pass and D'Urville Island
  

  They're not easy to get to, but if you have an adventurous spirit and don't mind a rough road, French Pass and D'Urville Island are two of the... read more