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South Island (New Zealand Region)

The West Coast is one of the administrative regions of New Zealand, located on the west coast of the South Island, and is one of the more remote and most sparsely populated areas of the country. It is made up of three districts: Buller, Grey and Westland.

The region is sparsely populated, especially in the south, with the 2006 census recording 31,326 inhabitants, up from 30,303 in 2001, although not as high as the 1996 figure. Major towns on the West Coast are Greymouth, Westport, and Hokitika. At one time, during the gold rush days, Hokitika had a population of more than 25,000 and boasted more than 100 pubs. A recreation of an early New Zealand settlement can be found at Shantytown.

The West Coast was home to Māori, who valued it for the taonga of greenstone (pounamu) which was found there in abundance. The present-day region of the West Coast was divided between Nelson Province and Canterbury Province from 1853, but in 1873 the Canterbury portion of the region formed its own province, the Westland Province, until the abolition of the provincial system in 1876.

        

Much of the region is public land administered by the New Zealand Department of Conservation and the region has some of the best remaining stands of native forest, along with a wealth of rare wildlife. Ecotourism is now one of the industries for the region, and this goes hand in hand with the conservation efforts.

The West Coast is also famous for being the only New Zealand nesting place of the rare White Heron / Kotuku, which nests near the Okarito Lagoon and can be visited from tours operating out of the small farming township of Whataroa. The West Coast has been numbered amongst the "Top 10 Coastal Drives of the World" by Lonely Planet