48 Best Sights in Upper South Island and the West Coast, New Zealand

One of New Zealand's most easily accessible parks is also one of the most visited, thanks to its golden sand beaches, sculptured granite headlands, and forest-lined tidal inlets and islands. Unlike other South Island parks, Abel Tasman has few extremes in weather, and its coastal track, one of the Great Walks, is an ideal place to explore without the need of serious technical equipment or experience. Day and multiday trips, walking, sea-kayaking, sailing, scenic cruises, and combos of all of these are popular ways to explore the area. Keep in mind in the peak summer holiday season (Christmas to late January) this area is very busy, and you will rarely be on that dream beach alone. Any time of the year, however, is perfectly suitable for an Abel Tasman trip. The small settlements of Kaiteriteri and Marahau are the main gateways to the national park, both at the southern end and 20- to 40-minutes' drive from Motueka. Stop first at the Nelson or Motueka isite Visitor Centre for maps and information. If you're planning to stop overnight at any of the Department of Conservation's campsites or huts along the Abel Tasman Coast Track, you need to book ahead. You can do this online or at the Nelson or Motueka isite. It pays to book well ahead, especially in summer. Water taxis service the coastline, and they drop-off or pick-up at many points along the way. At the northern end of the park, a road leads from Golden Bay through the park to Totaranui, where there is a large Department of Conservation campground and long, beautiful beach. This is a popular start/finish point for those walking the Abel Tasman Coast Track.

Jane Hunter is an internationally respected winemaker and a pioneer of wine making in Marlborough. A visit to her wine cellar, a restored old farm house, is a delight. You can also savor wine with an artisan cheese and meat board in the 5-acre garden, an environmental showpiece for the rare native plants it protects. There’s also a regular artist-in-residence. Famous Hunter wines include the Kaho Roa (oak-aged sauvignon blanc), pinot noir, and the Miru Miru (Māori for "bubbles").

Kahurangi is a vast wilderness of marbled karst mountains; glaciated landforms; alpine tablelands; rivers; alpine tarns; and beech, podocarp, and coastal rain forests. Underground are the country’s longest, deepest, and oldest cave systems. Multiday hikes, short walks, caving, extreme rafting, fly-fishing, and hunting are what people like to do here. Kahurangi National Park spans 1.2 million acres, much of it untamed, yet crisscrossed by 570 km (353 miles) of hiking trails of various levels. Most well known is the four- to five-day Heaphy Track, one of New Zealand’s Great Walks. Probably the most popular road access from Nelson is the steep, slightly scary climb to Flora Carpark on Mt. Arthur, and from Golden Bay its into the Cobb Valley. The main West Coast access is through Karamea; this is also the southwestern entry to the Heaphy Track. Helicopters regularly transport fishing fans to secret river spots, though large areas of the park are designated wilderness, where no development or helicopter transport is permitted.

See a superb collection of 150 immaculate vintage cars from over 100 years of motoring, ranging from a 1908 Renault AX to classics of the 1950s—including Vauxhalls, Triumphs, and Cadillacs—through to the exquisite mastery of Ferrari and Jaguar.

War stories are brought to life with actual historic planes placed in settings dramatized by New Zealand's Oscar-winning special-effects teams Weta Digital and Wingnut Films. The planes are from famed director Sir Peter Jackson's collection. World War I–era planes, and the stories of their pilots, are showcased in the Knights of the Sky exhibition. Dangerous Skies focuses on aviation development during World War II. There's also a café and shop.

Here you can see firsthand the Department of Conservation's successful breeding program of the rare kiwi species, the rowi. You can see a few rowi in the Nocturnal House, but by far the best option is to witness the incubation and rearing program in the Kiwi Backstage Tour. If your timing is lucky, perhaps you’ll see a hatching chick. Other displays here include the West Coast storytelling hut, where you can learn from the "old-timers" and undertake a quite lifelike glacial exploration.

One of the most respected Marlborough winemakers, Allan Scott launched his own company in 1990, and his whole family is now involved in the business. They make well-respected sauvignon blancs, chardonnays, pinot gris, pinot noirs, méthode traditionelle (try the Blanc de Blancs), gewürztraminers, and rieslings (the last two are particularly good). Special machines give access to 24 different wines, which are paid for at the end of the tour. The cellar door adjoins the indoor–outdoor Allan Scott Bistro, which opens out to a delightful herb garden. Marlborough salmon fillet and seafood chowder are menu classics (open for lunch only, closed in winter). 

A defining Nelson landscape feature is the 13-km (8-mile) natural stone bank, built from the eroding Mackay Cliffs farther north along the coast. The sheltered harbor the bank created is essentially the reason the region was first settled by Māori. Later, an entry was cut through the boulders to allow larger ships into the harbor. A lighthouse on the Boulder Bank guided ships from the 1860s until the 1980s. As you look across from the Nelson waterfront consider that, for 27 years, a lighthouse keeper, his wife, and 10 children lived there on the isolated bank. Access today is via Boulder Bank Road off Atawhai Drive. It is a two- to three-hour walk each way.

There's a ton of fun on this 1,600-acre farm a 10-minute drive from Nelson. The Skywire is a mile-long zip line (reportedly the world’s longest) that zooms across a forest-filled gully. Quad bikes climb a bush-lined track for 14 exciting km (8½ miles) before reaching a grand, hilltop ocean view. Horse treks explore the entire farm taking in steep trails and stunning views; they can be tailored depending on your riding ability. Then there’s paintball, Argo (all-terrain-vehicle) rides, and the Base Café to replenish at the end of it all.

Since its first vintage in 1985, Cloudy Bay has produced first-class sauvignon blanc, along with a range that includes an equally impressive Pelorus sparkling, chardonnays, pinot noirs, rieslings, pinot gris, gewürztraminers, and its unique barrel-aged Sauvignon Te Koko. Various tasting options are available, as are small plates of seasonal cuisine. Relax in the restful courtyard, or dine alfresco at Jack's Raw Bar, which offers clams and oysters matched with house wines.

Westport is a town based around coal, and the stories, challenges, and hardships of mining on (and under) the high plateau behind the town are related in this interactive museum. Hogging the limelight is the 8-ton coal wagon, perched on the 45-degree angle just as it would have been when descending the famous incline, off the Denniston Plateau. Museum entry is through the Westport isite Visitor Centre.

After winding past several small farming districts and close to beach communities such as Paton's Rock, Onekaka, and Tukurua, State Highway 60 ends at Collingwood, a small and picturesque seaside village at the mouth of the giant Aorere River, 26 km (16 miles) west of Tākaka. The earliest European settlers came here in the 1840s to build small ships from the timber lining the beaches and to farm the fertile river plain that spills out of the surrounding mountains. In the late-1850s, gold was discovered nearby and Collingwood became a thriving port-of-entry town; at one time it was even under consideration to be the country's capital. Collingwood is a bit out on a limb from the main roads, but nevertheless has much to offer. It's the northern access point for the Heaphy Track Great Walk and the main base for trips to internationally recognized bird-watching site Farewell Spit and to the wild, remote coastline of the northernmost West Coast, notably Wharariki Beach. The town's rich heritage is well documented, in both the small Collingwood Museum and the neighboring Aorere Centre.

The preserved hulk of the Edwin Fox demonstrates just how young New Zealand's European settlement is. The ship was used in the Crimean War, transported convicts to Australia, and brought settlers to New Zealand. Now dry-docked, it serves as a museum, bringing to life the conditions the early immigrants faced. It has the honor of being the oldest surviving merchant ship in the world.

Terroir over technology is the mantra at Fromm, one of Marlborough's smaller wineries known for its organic, sustainable growing principles. All grapes are handpicked. Fromm pioneered the local use of pinot noir and is also known for syrah, malbec, and merlot reserves. Visitors can enjoy cheese and meat platters with their tastings. 

Kaikōura's oldest building, erected soon after Robert Fyffe's whaling station was established in 1842, is now a small museum. Partly built on whale-bone piles on a grassy rise overlooking the sea, the house provides a look at what life was like when people aimed at whales with harpoons rather than cameras. 

This boutique winery (formerly known as Kahurangi Vineyards), in the small village of Upper Moutere, was one of the region's first, developed by Hermann Seifried in the 1970s. Greg and Amanda Day now produce a good range of riesling, pinot gris, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, and pinot noir under the exclusive Heaphy label. The cellar door is open all year for wine tastings with a range of Italian-style pizzas and platters to enjoy in the courtyard or banquet room during weekends or public holidays.

One of New Zealand's longest-standing glass galleries is known internationally for its iconic collectible family of penguins as well as bold platters and vases. Their work creates a kaleidoscope of bright saturated colors and smooth curves. The gallery is open seven days; if the glassblowers are working during your visit, you can watch them at their craft. They don't do this every day, so call ahead to check.

This grand house, in the delightful tree-filled Isel Park in Stoke, was built for Thomas Marsden, one of the region's prosperous pioneers. It was Marsden who laid out the magnificent gardens surrounding the house, which include several towering California redwoods. The well-preserved stone house has had several rooms restored to their former glory and contains stories of Isel and its surroundings, interpreted in part by local artists. You'll also find original anecdotal material, family items, and a herbarium. For some visitors, the sprawling woodland gardens are the highlight of a visit here.

The approach to Kaiteriteri Beach, through orchards then forest-lined coast, is lovely, and the beach is one of the area's prettiest, with its curve of golden sand, rocky islets offshore, and deep clear water. This place is packed in midsummer, but once the four-week post-Christmas rush is over, the area returns to its usual less-frenzied pace. Many water-taxi and scenic cruises leave from here for Abel Tasman National Park. The Great Taste cycle trail, which starts in Nelson, ends here, at the Kaiteriteri Mountain Bike Park. There is a popular campground and a few cafés in the village, although all prune their hours or close in winter. A number of private vacation homes are also located here. Amenities: food and drink; parking (free); toilets. Best for: swimming; walking.

Don’t miss a visit to beautiful, coastal Ōkārito Lagoon, just a 13-km (8-mile) detour off the highway, 15 km (9.3 miles) north of Franz Josef township. An immense, forest-fringed, coastal lagoon, nestled in scenic splendor beneath the Southern Alps, Ōkārito is arguably one of the largest, most pristine wetlands remaining in New Zealand. It is home to thousands of sea and wading birds and is backed by the Ōkārito Kiwi Sanctuary, 27,000 acres of lowland forest and home of the rowi, a rare species of kiwi.

Visitors are welcome to wander this working 5-acre farm, where rows of heavenly scented lavender stretch out against the stunning backdrop of the Seaward Kaikōura Range (catch the harvest from December to February). In the shop, lavender hangs from the ceiling and lavender mustards, chutneys, soaps, oils, and salves line the shelves. There's a café serving tea and coffee, high tea, continental breakfast, ice creams, cold drinks, and a few lavender-flavor treats. They also have two rustic self-contained B&B cottages in the garden, which is just a 15-minute drive north of Kaikōura.

Take the short boat ride out to explore this delightful café, lodge, wildlife refuge, and art studio on the shore of Lochmara Bay. Follow the bushwalks to see native gecko and the kakariki (a native parrot) being nurtured here as part of the lodge's wildlife recovery program. There's a pampering spa room and bathhouse above the beach, galleries of local art, and a sculpture trail. Artists-in-residence sometimes work here. Four-star chalets are suitable for couples and families, if you plan to stay longer.

If you are headed for the West Coast from Motueka, turn south onto Highway 61 at the very obvious Motueka Clock Tower, following the sign to Murchison. The road snakes through the Motueka Valley and follows the Motueka River, with green valley walls pressing close alongside. If this river could talk, it would probably scream, "Trout!" After the town of Tapawera, turn south on State Highway 6 at Kohatu Junction and continue to the West Coast.

For a small-town operation this local, community-run museum has a lot to look at. The rustic little building features an exhibit and memorial for the 1929 earthquake here, in which 17 locals died and many more were made homeless. There's also a good collection of farming and agricultural machinery from the town's colonial era, plus displays on the region's gold and coal mining history. The museum is run by a few volunteers who make a valiant attempt to open regularly.

There are few places in the world where you can find a natural gas flame, but this is one. In an ancient forest setting near Murchison, there’s been one quietly glowing since the 1920s, and this tour company has sole access rights. The four-hour tour involves a short, scenic drive, education about local oil drilling and farming, a one-hour backcountry walk (you might get wet feet) through farmland and forest to the flames, and a hot brew and pikelets cooked up on the natural fire. Tour groups are restricted to ten people. Booking ahead is essential.

Snow-covered peaks and alpine passes sit between two deep brooding, forest-surrounded lakes. Dense native forest, swampy wetlands, and tumbling rivers line the valleys, and birdlife join in a resounding dawn chorus. It's an exhilarating environment. Two stunningly scenic glacial-formed lakes, Rotoroa and Rotoiti, are the central focus of Nelson Lakes National Park. Also in the park are rocky peaks and tussock-covered tops, glacier-gouged river valleys, and bush-lined trails. Native beech forest pours down to the lakeshores. On cloudy days, mist swirls through the trees, wetting the draping mosses. On sunny days, the intense greens shine through and the birds' chorus resounds. Of the two lakes, Rotoroa is less developed, with just a few fishing cottages and a campsite on its northern shore. The village of St. Arnaud, at the northern end of Lake Rotoiti, is the main gateway to the park. An accommodation lodge, a handful of B&Bs, a general store, a café, the Department of Conservation (DOC) Nelson Lakes Visitor Centre, and a host of private vacation homes are located here. Each year, in late February or early March, the Antique and Classic Boat Show is held at Lake Rotoiti wdith around 200 antique vessels congregating for several days of boat racing and boat talk. The visitor center is particularly good, with information on the area's geology, ecology, and human history. Maps, details, and advice on the hiking trails are available, and a mountain weather forecast is issued daily. The DOC also administers two excellent campgrounds near the lake frontage. Bookings for these, at Kerr Bay and West Bay, can be made online or at the visitor center.

On the site of New Zealand's first museum, the city’s provincial museum explores the first Māori residents and early European settlements, the city's development as a port, and general events that shaped the region. Exhibits include a rare collection of Māori musical instruments. There are heritage pieces donated from private collections and regular visiting exhibitions.

Despite its tiny size, Neudorf has established an international reputation for its pinot noir and chardonnay. Riesling, pinot gris, and sauvignon blanc are also highly regarded. The top wines wear the Moutere designation on the label, as the winery is in the Moutere Valley surrounded by acres of vineyards and hop gardens. The Moutere Chardonnay is regarded as the vineyard's signature wine. Artisan cheeses are served in summer, and they also stock olives, cheese, and oat crackers in the small deli to enjoy on the lovely grounds.

The magical rain forests and sculpted landforms here are amid the Honeycomb Hill Caves Specially Protected Area that's within Kahurangi National Park. Spectacular features at Oparara include a series of huge limestone arches (including the largest in the southern hemisphere, at 470 feet), passages, and caverns. Several short walks explore the caves, which are about a 45-minute drive northeast of Karamea. The Oparara Valley Project Trust, a community project, has enhanced visitor facilities and offers guided tours that can include both walks and kayaking explorations. Also in this cave system is Honeycomb Hill, featuring underground passages of more than 13 km (8 miles) that contain the largest collection of subfossil bird bones found in New Zealand; many of them are extinct, including nine moa species and the giant New Zealand Haast's eagle. The caves are protected, and access is by guided tour only.

Halfway between both Picton and Nelson and Blenheim and Nelson, on State Highway 6, is this remnant of the native lowland forest that once covered the whole region. Easy walking trails explore the beech, podocarp (a species of evergreen), and broadleaf trees. In summer ,the crystal clear river is warm enough (just) for swimming (watch for the sand flies). There's also a rare colony of endangered long-tailed native bats that come to play round the streetlight at the bridge at night. This is an utterly delightful place to take a pause, especially with a campground and café both in the vicinity.