Trip from Greymouth to Nelson
The City of Greymouth
Greymouth is the largest city on the West Coast of New Zealand. It is home to over 10,000 residents out of the approximately 30,000 people living in the entire West Coast of the South Island. It is located between the New Zealand Glaciers region and the Nelson Lakes and Nelson area, about half an hour (40 km) north of the jade town of Hokitika.
The city itself offers plenty of accommodation options, restaurants, supermarkets (much larger than the rest of the West Coast of the South Island), shops, and a sports center.
The main tourist attraction in Greymouth is the "Monteith's" brewery, where guided tours are held several times a day, including tastings of 6-7 types of beer.
♦ Recommended tours from Greymouth for booking via Viator:
A high-quality and highly recommended restaurant in Greymouth is Buccleugh’s ON HIGH, located in THE RECREATION HOTEL.
Address: 68 High Street, Greymouth 7805. The restaurant has a rich and varied menu and is open daily for breakfast and dinner, and on weekends for lunch as well. There is a successful bar next to the restaurant.
Accommodation recommendations in Greymouth
Gables Motor Lodge
A successful motel with apartments in a variety of sizes: from double studios (some with Jacuzzi) to 4-bedroom apartments designed for 8 people. All apartments have well-equipped kitchens or kitchenettes. Located across the road from the city's sports center and pools in Greymouth. Close to a large supermarket and a successful restaurant. The motel has a laundry room and a barbecue area. Free Wi-Fi and parking.
Alpine Rose Motel
A motel with apartments designed for 2-6 adults, including studios, one-bedroom and living room apartments (some with Jacuzzi), and two-bedroom and living room family apartments. Each unit has a well-equipped kitchen/kitchenette. The place has a laundry room, a playground for children, a picnic area, and barbecue facilities. Free Wi-Fi and parking. Located a 3-minute drive from the city center.
Beachview Motel
A motel located in the town of Rapahoe, about a 10-minute drive north of Greymouth, next to the beach. Many rooms have an ocean view. The place has rooms and suites with a kitchenette including a stove, microwave, and kitchen utensils.
The motel has a laundry room, a garden with barbecue facilities. Free Wi-Fi and parking.
Punakaiki Reserve
The main attraction in the Greymouth area is "Punakaiki", located about 40 minutes (45 km) north of Greymouth. The reserve features limestone rocks stacked on top of each other, creating "layers of pancakes".
♦ For booking via Viator: A day trip along the West Coast including the Punakaiki Reserve and seals:
Full Day Tour of the Sights and Tastes of the West Coast
Departs from the city of Greymouth, including lunch and beer tasting at a brewery.
The park has an easy and accessible 1.1 km circular walking trail between the impressive and numerous rocks and the Blowholes, a kind of sea water geyser that erupts occasionally from channels and caves between the rocks. The spectacle is especially impressive at high tide. On the other side of the road, there is a visitor center and several food and souvenir shops. A must-see site for anyone arriving in the area.
Short video about the Pancake Rocks:
Seal Colony
A further drive of about 50 minutes (55 km) north of Punakaiki leads to the town of Westport, near which is "Cape Foulwind", where there is a photogenic lighthouse and a large colony of sea lions nearby.
Several walking trails depart from the Cape Foulwind Walkway parking lot:
An easy 500-meter trail (about a quarter-hour walk each way) leads to the Tauranga Bay Seal Colony viewpoint, an observation deck overlooking the many sea lions, some lying on rocks in the sea and some swimming in the water right next to the lookout.
The trail starts from the parking lot of Tauranga Bay, which is a long surfing beach that has several impressive viewpoints as well, while walking on the trail.
Continuing the walk for about another hour leads to a lighthouse named Cape Foulwind Lighthouse.
Short video about the sea lions:
Scenic Road - Upper Buller Gorge Road
From the sea lion colony, continue driving for about an hour and a quarter (85 km) on a scenic road called: Upper Buller Gorge Road (Road number 6) which winds along the Buller River, where it is worth stopping at several impressive viewpoints of the river.
Further along, the road leads to a particularly attractive tourist site for families and action lovers: Buller Gorge Swingbridge Adventure and Heritage Park, where the main attraction is a suspension bridge considered the longest in New Zealand. The 110-meter-long bridge hangs 19 meters above the Buller River.
Walking on it provides spectacular views of the river and its surroundings. After crossing the bridge, it is recommended to walk on an easy and scenic trail through thick vegetation in a historic site that previously served as a home for gold miners, and in 1929 there was a particularly strong earthquake in the area. You can walk back and forth on the narrow and swaying bridge, but it is also possible to return by "Zip Line" or "Superman".
Another successful attraction at the site is the Buller Gorge Jetboat - a fast and adrenaline-filled 40-minute boat ride on the river between granite cliffs in an impressive landscape, including 360-degree spins.
Short video about the trips on the scenic road:
Saint Arnaud
An additional hour (75 km) leads to the town of Saint Arnaud, which serves as a starting point for a visit to the Nelson Lakes National Park (details about it in the article about Picton).
Nelson
From Saint Arnaud, continue driving for about an hour and a quarter to Nelson, which serves as a starting point for a trip to the Abel Tasman National Park. Nelson is the oldest city on the South Island of New Zealand and is the economic and cultural center of the northern South Island. Nelson has a small and friendly airport with flights to a variety of destinations in New Zealand (mostly to Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington).
♦ Recommended tours in Nelson and Abel Tasman from the Viator website:
Accommodation recommendations in Nelson
Trailways Hotel Nelson
A hotel with studio apartments and apartments with a bedroom and living room for 2-4 people. Located in the center of Nelson. All units have a kitchenette. All have air conditioning. Some units are equipped with a Jacuzzi or a spa shower. The hotel has a restaurant, bar, and an outdoor heated swimming pool. The hotel has a self-service laundry. Free Wi-Fi and parking.
Delorenzo Studio Apartments
An apartment hotel with studio apartments and apartments with one bedroom suitable for 2-4 people. Every apartment has a well-equipped kitchenette, washing machine and dryer, and air conditioning. Some apartments have a Jacuzzi. The hotel has an outdoor heated swimming pool as well as a terrace with barbecue facilities. Free parking and Wi-Fi.
Palazzo Motor Lodge
A motel located 350 meters from the center of Nelson. The motel has double studio apartments and apartments with one or two bedrooms. All have a kitchen/kitchenette and are air-conditioned. Some have a Jacuzzi. Most units have a balcony or a small yard. Free bicycles for the use of the motel guests. Free parking and Wi-Fi.
Bicycle trips
At the airport, there is a successful bike rental company called Nelson Cycle Hire & Tours, which organizes guided tours from Nelson to the nearby towns and nature, and also rents bicycles for independent riding. They provide a map with the recommended cycling route, including tickets for a short ferry (with the bicycles), and they allow one-way riding, where they return their clients to the airport by car. The company has comfortable bicycles, including electric bicycles.
One of the routes includes riding between wineries in the area. A highly recommended route for a 3-4 hour trip (net 2 hours of riding on an easy route with a length of 26 km) is: Magical Mapua 1 day self-guided tour (MM1)
From the airport along the coastline in a lovely and diverse landscape including characteristic vegetation and of course sheep, cows, and many birds, to a tiny and magical town called Mapua, which you reach by a short ferry from Rabbit Island (you can reach it by car without a ferry on a longer drive).
In the town of Mapua, there is a pier from which the local youth like to jump into the quiet sea water, and plenty of cafes, restaurants, and cute shops. Along the way, you pass beaches with white sand, farms, cafes, a cheese shop, a glassblower, and also wineries.
Short video about the bicycle trip:
Variety of attractions in Nelson
♦ Action trips in Nelson: off-road trips, skydiving, and zip-lining over trees from the Viator website:
Near Nelson Airport, it is recommended to visit the unique museum "World of WearableArt & Classic Cars Museum", abbreviated as the WOW museum. The museum has two exhibitions, which, while not really related to each other, are both successful: a collection of over 50 classic cars from the 1920s to the present day alongside an unconventional fashion exhibition of clothes treated as "wearable art".
For beer lovers, it is recommended to visit THE VIC brewery belonging to the Mac’s Brewery chain. The place also has an excellent restaurant.
In the center of Nelson is a pedestrian street full of cafes and restaurants ending at a picturesque church from which the view of the entire city can be seen. Nearby are beautiful gardens called "Queen’s Gardens".
In a western suburb of Nelson, it is successful to visit a peanut butter factory called: Pic's Peanut Butter World, which has a large factory store, a cafe, and the main attraction: a guided tour along the production line. You must book tickets for the tour in advance!