The West Coast Heritage Tour

Reefton is the northern gateway from Christchurch or Nelson, the Town of Light - first public electricity supply in Southern Hemisphere.

The Reefton Goldrush in the 1860s created much of the character, charm and history you see in the township and surrounding areas today.

The town itself became established about 1870 and with mining came technology and innovation.

Visit Blacks Point Museum and Waiuta - NZ’s richest gold mine ghost town, and a Tohu Whenua site.

Travel the Great Coast Road to Greymouth. Stop in at Mitchells’ Gully Gold Mine, take a wander around the old gold town and port of Charleston.

View the Rūnanga Miners Hall (under restoration), before heading to Greymouth’s Left Bank Art Gallery to view their National Contemporary Pounamu Collection.

Meander along the Flood Wall Walkway, where you can view the Coal River Park, Port Cranes and Breakwaters.

Visit the Brunner Coal Mine and Industrial Site – site of New Zealand’s worst mine disaster, Blackball and the Museum of Working Class history.

Head south to Shantytown Heritage Park.

Visit Kumara, the Premier King Dick Seddon’s Gold Town, see the restored Theatre Royal Hotel and explore round the 1865 Gold Trail through gold rush ghost towns of Goldsborough and Stafford (mine tunnels, walks and historic cemetery).

Make you way to Franz Josef and Fox Glacier. Visit Rimu / Woodstock Hill Goldfields Lookout and Heritage Site, and pan for gold and walk the Gold fields.

Take a break at Hari Hari’s First Trans-Tasman Flight Memorial, at Whataroa join Alpine Fault Tours, stand between the continental plates and see how the Southern Alps were formed.

Visit the peaceful Okarito goldrush town and port with lagoon and heritage tours, historic wharf shed, Donovan's gold rush era store, coastal pack track and stunning views of the Southern Alps and glacial landscape formations from the trig station. Then on to the Glaciers!