About Westport Area

Westport is the gateway to the Northern West Coast.  Named after a town in Ireland, it is the service center for the Buller region with a population of around 11 to 12,000 in Westport and the surrounding area.

It has a spectacular location on the mighty Buller River with the steep Paparoa Ranges behind it and around it a beautiful estuary area called the Orowaiti Lagoon.

It has all the services you will need for a short visit or longer term living.  It offers 24 hour fuel, two major supermarkets, a diverse range of accommodation from budget to luxury, a good range of cafes and bars, a micro-brewery, a multi-screen and live theatre complex, an all year round recreation and conference center with a full gymnasium, lap and hydrotherapy pools,  and a huge choice of activities to enjoy.   Look for information on these under the specific activities which interest you e.g. surfing, mountain biking, walks etc.

Westport and its surrounding villages are perfect for people who just want to ‘discover’ and experience things for themselves – but it also has some world class adventure activities – Underworld glowworm rafting through the amazing Nile River Caves at Charleston; a unimog mine tour to New Zealand’s largest open-cast coal mine, 2000 ft up on the high plateau between Granity and Ngakawau villages;  Wild River Rafting on the Buller River; and guided tours through the World Heritage Honeycomb Caves in Karamea.  And don’t miss the brand new Denniston Experience http://dennistonmineexperience.co.nz – three adventures which take you back to mining as our early settlers knew it and life at the coal face.

Highlights of this new experience include:

• A unique interactive underground experience playing the role of a miner (optional)
• A fully guided trip including the sights and sounds of underground mining life
• A rail journey along the spectacular Waimangaroa Gorge

Even if you don’t do this experience, a visit to Coaltown Museum will help you imagine life as it was for New Zealand's pioneering coal miners as you walk through a simulated underground coal mine.

Charleston

Just twenty minutes south of Westport lies the historic gold mining township of Charleston.  Relax and take in nature's wonders from the Nile River Rainforest Train.  This beautiful scenery was used for filming the BBC’s Lost World dinosaur documentary.  Charleston is also famous for its Glow Worm Cave Tour and its Underworld Rafting. The galaxies of glow worms and incredible stalactites and stalagmites formations in one of New Zealand's largest caves will astound you.

Tiny secluded bays, wild waves and short dramatic headland walks are centred around Constant and Joyce Bays.   

Visit Denniston – self-discovery option

Just 15 minutes from downtown Westport is the village of Waimangaroa - the gateway to the historic settlement of Denniston, located 600metres above sea level with sweeping vistas of Westport and the surrounding landscape.

Denniston was established in the 1800s by coal miners working on the Burnett's Face, Ironbridge and Coalbrookdale mines. Originally, the only access up 'the Hill' was the steep Bridle Path, or a heart-stopping ride in a coal wagon up the Incline. This meant that many of the early settlers came down from 'The Hill' as they called it only once a year – and some, particularly women, not for a decade or more.

It was this brutally hard life scratched out in mist and snow for months on end, on a high plateau with no soil which inspired the best-selling Denniston novels of Jenny Pattrick – Denniston Rose and Heart of Coal.

Today an excellent road winds up to the Incline viewing areas and walkways, and shingle roads linking the original settlements provide vehicle access across the plateau. The remnant relics, mine sites, rope roads and townships remain as an evocative reminder of one of the harshest and most unforgiving environments in which to live. The plunge from the head of the incline is a view not to be missed.

As well as its incredible history, Denniston offers a wide range of walking tracks from a few minutes to a full day.

For those looking to pit their skill and endurance against the remarkable terrain, the Department of Conservation and local recreation groups have developed a number of mountain bikingiking and four-wheel driving tracks.

Granity, Ngakawau and Hector

The NorthWest Buller seaside villages of Granity, Ngakawau and Hector are a charming mix of early mining cottages, artists' studios and holiday homes, and are but a short 20 minute drive up the coast on State Highway 67 which runs from Westport through to Karamea and the entrance to the mighty Heaphy tramping track. With the Tasman Sea thundering in on your left and the unforgettable crags of the forested high plateau rising to 3,000 feet on your right - the site of the high altitude mining towns of Denniston and Millerton - this is an unforgettable journey.

Granity houses the Northern Buller Museum built around the old (restored) coke ovens - with quaint local collections and information on Denniston, Millerton and the rugged early life of miners on the coast. Here you can browse the many craft, sculpture and art galleries and enjoy a seaside café lunch.

Ngakawau is only four minutes on from Granity. On the way you'll see the road to Millerton, a quirky high altitude present day mining village with a colourful past, offering wonderful short walks.   Ngakawau is the entry point for the Charming Creek Walkway one of the South Island's Top Five day walks. Also in Ngakawau you will find the world class Hector Pottery, the Stockton Mine Aerial Ropeway, excellent river and sea fishing, and beaches equally popular among surfers and rock hounds and beachcombers.

Hector lies across the bridge, and is named after James Hector, a pioneer explorer, geologist, and natural scientist who founded many of New Zealand's scientific organisations and discovered the Hector's Dolphin. Enjoy the Hector's Dolphin sculpture picnic area and stone barbecue at the mouth of the Ngakawau River - and watch out for these small and endangered dolphins which often play just beyond the breakers. In the summer you can take the kids to the local swimming pool, playground with trampoline, or have lunch at the café at the local tavern.  And if you’re a country music fan, don’t miss the Country Music Museum – it’s A-mazing!

A short history of Westport

Like most of the West Coast, the history of Westport is all about mining and timber – first gold and then coal.  Gold fever attracted fortune seekers in large numbers between 1864 and 1867, boosting the population - from 250 to 26,000 in the three years of gold booms.

The discovery of coal bearing deposits happened during the same decade.   From 1867 the coal mining industry began in earnest, and by 1895 Denniston in the north had become the largest coal producer in this country.   The development of other services such as the port, roads, shops and trades were all funded by the needs of the miners and their families.

Today, Westport and the Buller region has a more diversified economy with mining still expanding and cement manufacture, fishing, tourism, dairy farming and cranberry production now part of the mix.  The growth of dairy has been possible through ‘flipping’ previously acid hardpan soils with huge diggers to create free-draining rich pastureland.  Several new electricity generation projects are poised to begin here as well, so Buller’s economic future looks bright.