At the extreme West of the South Island lies the West Coast. This area is a rugged
place of wild beauty, untamed bush clad hills which sweep up to towering icy peaks.
A scenic highway follows the coastline, with a handful of passes leading to the east, the narrow
coastal strip is still very much untamed yet it offers abundant touring options and three national
parks.
Much of the southern region of the coast has been granted World Heritage Status and this includes
the Westland, Mt Aspiring national parks, scenic reserves and the breeding grounds of rare White
Heron as well as the magnificent Fox and Franz Josef glaciers which crawl almost to the sea.
Outdoor activities make much use of the rivers, for rafting, canoeing and fishing, there are
also limestone cave systems while tramping at all levels of difficulty is popular and South Westland
is the only place in the world where you can step off a glacier into temperate rain forest.
