Lake Matheson
Explore
South Island
West Coast & Glaciers
Te Tai Poutini
Beneath the Southern Alps, glaciers, rainforest and rugged coastline create a world apart.
7 Tours Visit Here
Kauri, Kōwhai, Mataī, Mt Cook Lily, Pōhutukawa, Rimu, Tōtara
Discover the West Coast & Glaciers
Along the western edge of New Zealand’s South Island, the West Coast unfolds between the Southern Alps and the Tasman Sea. Ancient rainforest, turquoise rivers, rugged beaches and immense glaciers appear in dramatic succession, creating a landscape that feels untamed and wonderfully remote. Roads wind through small pioneering towns and past geological wonders, with the mountains never far from the ocean. This is New Zealand at its wildest, where the journey through the landscape is as memorable as every destination along the way.
Twin Glacier Country
Franz Josef and Fox form the famous twin glaciers of a region where ice fields, rainforest, beaches and mirror lakes lie remarkably close together.
Geological Wonderland
Glaciers, limestone formations, blowholes, turquoise gorges and coastal landforms make the West Coast rich in geological variety.
Pounamu Country
Te Tai Poutini is the primary source of pounamu, a treasured greenstone valued for its strength, beauty and spiritual significance.
Gold Rush Coast
Gold discoveries in the 1860s transformed the region, leaving historic mining towns, railway routes and pioneering stories across the Coast.
The West Coast, known to Māori as Te Tai Poutini, has long been shaped by treasures within its rivers and mountains. Māori travelled ancient routes in search of pounamu (greenstone), prized for its strength, beauty and spiritual significance. Later, gold and coal drew settlers west, leaving mining towns and a famously resilient local character. Hokitika grew during the 1860s gold rush and remains closely associated with pounamu, local art and the Tasman shoreline.
The scenery changes constantly along the western edge of New Zealand’s South Island. Glaciers descend from the Southern Alps towards temperate rainforest, turquoise rivers cut through deep gorges and remote beaches face the Tasman Sea. In Glacier Country, Franz Josef and Fox are among New Zealand’s most accessible glaciers, reaching unusually close to the coast, while nearby Lake Matheson is known for calm waters and alpine reflections.
Today, travelling the West Coast means moving through striking contrasts, from rainforest and ice to lakes and ocean. Its small towns, pioneering stories and dramatic landscapes give the region a remote, elemental character found nowhere else in New Zealand.
What You'll Experience
Some of New Zealand's most treasured experiences, all part of your time in the West Coast & Glaciers.
Explore Hokitika
Explore Hokitika, the West Coast’s ‘Cool Little Town’, where a thriving artisan community, historic streets, and rugged coastal scenery create a distinctly local character. There are many galleries and working studios, where artists transform pounamu, glass, wood, and other materials into beautiful pieces, and creative Take-a-Seat installations around town. Delight in heritage buildings, welcoming cafés, and the independent spirit that makes Hokitika such a memorable place to explore.
Hokitika means ‘place of return’ and the town is also known as Jade Country for its strong connection to West Coast pounamu (greenstone).
Stay in Fox Glacier Village
Stay overnight in Fox Glacier village, a spirited West Coast community set within Glacier Country, where the Southern Alps descend towards lush coastal rainforest. Shaped by generations of rural families and a thriving visitor industry, the village combines small-town hospitality with local cafés and access to an extraordinary alpine-to-coastal landscape. Nestled beneath the mountains, Scenic Hotel Te Weheka provides a peaceful and comfortable retreat just a short stroll from the village centre.
The name Fox Glacier refers to both the spectacular glacier and the nearby village.
Morning stroll at Lake Matheson
Enjoy a morning stroll through native forest to beautiful Lake Matheson, one of the West Coast’s most celebrated natural attractions. When the water is calm and the skies are clear, its glassy surface creates remarkable reflections of Aoraki / Mount Cook and Mount Tasman, New Zealand’s highest peaks. Have your camera ready as the delightful bush track follows the lake’s forested edge, revealing picturesque viewpoints along the way.
Lake Matheson’s mirror-like reflections are enhanced by its naturally dark brown water, coloured by organic matter leached from the surrounding forest floor.
Explore the lake
Journey through Haast
Journey through the breathtaking Haast region, where dense Westland rainforest, glacial rivers, and soaring mountains unfold within the UNESCO World Heritage-listed wilderness of Te Wāhipounamu. The scenic Haast Highway winds between the West Coast and Wānaka, crossing the Southern Alps through the remote landscapes of Haast Pass. Surrounded by national parks and vast tracts of protected wilderness, this is one of the South Island’s most spectacular travel routes.
The road linking Wānaka and the West Coast was not completed until 1965, despite a pack track crossing Haast Pass as early as 1876.
Optional Experiences
These optional experiences are available at an extra cost to passengers joining selected Pure Discoveries® tours.
Booked a Pure Discoveries® tour and interested in adding optional experiences? Get in touch with our team to discuss your options.
Explore optional experiences across all Pure Discoveries® tour destinations
Optional Extra
Glacier Flight and Snow Landing
Take a 25-minute helicopter experience, including a snow landing, exploring either Franz Josef or Fox Glacier. Gaze across immense ice formations and rugged West Coast terrain before stepping onto a snowy glacial plain, with the glacier and landing location selected according to the weather and daily ice conditions.
Franz Josef and Fox glaciers are constantly moving, so the weather, ice conditions and daily movement of the glaciers determine exactly where the helicopter lands.
Optional Extra
Twin Glacier Flight and Snow Landing
Take a 35-minute helicopter experience, including a snow landing, flying above both Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers as their immense ice flows lead into the Southern Alps. Land on the snow at the head of one glacier and step outside to admire the deep valleys and rugged landscape carved by these moving rivers of ice.
Although often called twin glaciers, Fox Glacier is around two kilometres longer and taller than Franz Josef Glacier.
Where You'll Stay in the West Coast & Glaciers
On selected departures, our usual accommodation may be substituted with another carefully selected property, based on availability.
1 night
Scenic Hotel Te Weheka
This boutique hotel offers a sense of privacy and peaceful seclusion. The refurbished, luxurious accommodation is nestled beneath the towering Southern Alps in one of the world's most ruggedly beautiful environments. All rooms feature a private balcony with magnificent views. The charming Fox Glacier village is just a short stroll away.
- Remote location
- On-site breakfast restaurant
- Private balconies
- Library
Alternative accommodation
Heartland Hotel Glacier Country
Set in the heart of Fox Glacier village, Heartland Hotel Glacier Country offers cosy accommodation and genuine West Coast hospitality. Its central location places cafés and local amenities close at hand. After a day of discovery, relax by the restaurant's open fireplace, with the option to enjoy hearty cuisine in a warm, welcoming atmosphere.
- Central village setting
- On-site restaurant and bar
- Open fireplace
On Tour in the West Coast & Glaciers
See how this destination features on our small-group tours.
How Pure Discoveries® Visits
Reach the wild West Coast in grand style, crossing the Southern Alps aboard the TranzAlpine Train to Arthurs Pass before continuing by coach through rainforest and glacier country. Take time to explore Hokitika before travelling south to Franz Josef.
Here, you may choose an optional Glacier Flight and Snow Landing or Twin Glacier Flight and Snow Landing, available at an extra cost, before continuing for an overnight stay in Fox Glacier Village. The next morning brings a morning stroll at Lake Matheson, where calm waters may mirror Aoraki/Mount Cook and the Southern Alps. From here, journey through Haast, following icy rivers and crossing Haast Pass into the alpine wilderness of Mount Aspiring National Park.
Tours That Explore the West Coast & Glaciers
These Pure Discoveries® tours include the West Coast & Glaciers in their itinerary.
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