Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
WESTLAND TAI POUTINI NATIONAL PARK
Around halfway down the South Island's West Coast, the 117-sq-km Westland Tai Poutini
National Park extends from the highest peaks of the Southern Alps (Ka Tiritiri o te Moana)
to the rugged and remote beaches of the wild West Coast. It is an area of magnificent
primeval vistas - snow-capped mountains, glaciers, forests, tussock grasslands, lakes, rivers,
wetlands and beaches. This world-class scenic landscape forms part of Te Wahipounamu -
South West New Zealand World Heritage Area and is a treasure trove of amazing geology,
rare flora and fauna and wonderful history.
The park is split by the Alpine Fault, creating a place of dramatic contrasts. East of the
fault, mountains rise suddenly, and steep forested slopes are cut deeply with impassable
gorges. High above, permanent snowfields feed myriad glaciers, including Fox Glacier (Te
Moeka o Tuawe) and Franz Josef Glacier (Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere), which descend
right down to the lowlands.
On the west side are primeval rainforests - rata high up, and a profusion of ferns, shrubs
and trees lower down. There are many lakes to explore on the narrow coastal plain, and the
soaring ice-covered mountains provide a dramatic backdrop.
History
Early Maori settlements were situated near Westland Tai Poutini's lakes and lagoons, where
food was plentiful. However, as they travelled up and down the coast in their pursuit of
pounamu
(greenstone), it is evident that they travelled widely through the forests and up into
alpine areas.
It was gold, once again, that lured larger populations to the area. Indeed, in the year strad-
dling 1864-65 at least 16,000 miners came to the rain-soaked wilderness in the hope of lin-
ing their pockets. The first prospectors headed for the rivers, but in the spring of 1865 gold
was found glittering in the black-sand beaches. Townships sprung up, but the rushes didn't
last. Just 18 months after their incredibly rapid emergence, the seaside settlements of
Okarito, Five Mile and Gillespies were virtual ghost towns.
However, word was soon spread of the stunning landscape - Fox and Franz Josef glaci-
ers, in particular. Determined visitors ventured to the remote coast to check it out for them-
selves, and by the start of the 1900s demand was such that the government was allocating
funds for tracks and huts. Parties were guided up on to the ice and into the mountains by the
Graham brothers, Peter and Alec, forerunners of the guiding enterprises that thrive to this
day.
