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Geography:
The
West Coast
region has the
Tasman sea as a border
to the west, with rough seas being very common, and the mountains of the
Southern Alps to the east. The high annual rainfall in the
region maintains the lush looking lowland rain forest which covers the
majority of the area. The traveller through the region will be aware
of magnificent views of
Haast Pass, as
well as the
Fox
and
Franz Joseph glaciers.
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Attractions: The scenery of the coast and the
lure of the rainforest and native bush are mainly responsible for attracting visitors to the region. The
Punakaiki (Pancake) rocks are a huge
visitor attraction. These are limestone
rocks on the coast between
Westport and Greymouth where the sea shoots up
in a fountain through blow holes at high tides. Also well worth a
visit is the Okarito lagoon, where many species of wading bird
have made their home.
Bird watching, eco tours and kayak tours of the lagoon are available from
Okarito, a small hamlet at the southern end of the lagoon The regions principal towns are Greymouth, the largest town in the region, Westport where you can go seal watching, rafting and jet boating in the Buller Gorge, and Hokitika where the visitor can buy carved greenstone. |
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 Punakaiki Rocks |
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