4 Best Sights in Upper South Island and the West Coast, New Zealand

One of New Zealand's most easily accessible parks is also one of the most visited, thanks to its golden sand beaches, sculptured granite headlands, and forest-lined tidal inlets and islands. Unlike other South Island parks, Abel Tasman has few extremes in weather, and its coastal track, one of the Great Walks, is an ideal place to explore without the need of serious technical equipment or experience. Day and multiday trips, walking, sea-kayaking, sailing, scenic cruises, and combos of all of these are popular ways to explore the area. Keep in mind in the peak summer holiday season (Christmas to late January) this area is very busy, and you will rarely be on that dream beach alone. Any time of the year, however, is perfectly suitable for an Abel Tasman trip. The small settlements of Kaiteriteri and Marahau are the main gateways to the national park, both at the southern end and 20- to 40-minutes' drive from Motueka. Stop first at the Nelson or Motueka i-SITE Visitor Centre for maps and information. If you're planning to stop overnight at any of the Department of Conservation's campsites or huts along the Abel Tasman Coast Track, you need to book ahead. You can do this online or at the Nelson or Motueka i-SITE. It pays to book well ahead, especially in summer. Water taxis service the coastline, and they drop-off or pick-up at many points along the way. At the northern end of the park, a road leads from Golden Bay through the park to Totaranui, where there is a large Department of Conservation campground and long, beautiful beach. This is a popular start/finish point for those walking the Abel Tasman Coast Track.

Kahurangi is a vast wilderness of marbled karst mountains; glaciated landforms; alpine tablelands; rivers; alpine tarns; and beech, podocarp, and coastal rain forests. Underground are the country’s longest, deepest, and oldest cave systems. Multiday hikes, short walks, caving, extreme rafting, fly-fishing, and hunting are what people like to do here. Kahurangi National Park spans 1.1 million acres, much of it untamed, yet crisscrossed by 570 km (353 miles) of hiking trails of various levels. Most well known is the four- to five-day Heaphy Track, one of New Zealand’s Great Walks. Probably the most popular road access from Nelson is the steep, slightly scary climb to Flora Carpark on Mt. Arthur, and from Golden Bay its into the Cobb Valley. The main West Coast access is through Karamea; this is also the southwestern entry to the Heaphy Track. Helicopters regularly transport fishing fans to secret river spots, though large areas of the park are designated wilderness, where no development or helicopter transport is permitted.

Snow-covered peaks and alpine passes sit between two deep brooding, forest-surrounded lakes. Dense native forest, swampy wetlands, and tumbling rivers line the valleys, and birdlife join in a resounding dawn chorus. It's an exhilarating environment. Two stunningly scenic glacial-formed lakes, Rotoroa and Rotoiti, are the central focus of Nelson Lakes National Park. Also in the park are rocky peaks and tussock-covered tops, glacier-gouged river valleys, and bush-lined trails. Native beech forest pours down to the lakeshores. On cloudy days, mist swirls through the trees, wetting the draping mosses. On sunny days, the intense greens shine through and the birds' chorus resounds. Of the two lakes, Rotoroa is less developed, with just a few fishing cottages and a campsite on its northern shore. The village of St. Arnaud, at the northern end of Lake Rotoiti, is the main gateway to the park. An accommodation lodge, a handful of B&Bs, a general store, a café, the Department of Conservation (DOC) Nelson Lakes Visitor Centre, and a host of private vacation homes are located here. Each year, in late February or early March, the Antique and Classic Boat Show is held at Lake Rotoiti with close to 200 antique vessels congregating for several days of boat racing and boat talk. The visitor center is particularly good, with information on the area's geology, ecology, and human history. Maps, details, and advice on the hiking trails are available, and a mountain weather forecast is issued daily. The DOC also administers two excellent campgrounds near the lake frontage. Bookings for these, at Kerr Bay and West Bay, can be made online or at the visitor center.

The glaciers are the main attractions here, yet there are many other beautiful places to explore in this magnificent national park and World Heritage region, which encompasses everything from New Zealand’s highest mountains to glaciers, rain forests, hidden lakes, and coastal wetlands. Scenic drives and a couple of walks in the glacial valleys bring you to viewpoints within 500 feet or so of the glaciers. Alternatively, from Fox township, drive about 4 km (2½ miles) toward the coast on Cook Flat Road for a roadside view of Fox Glacier (weather permitting). Because of glacial recession access onto the actual glaciers is no longer possible by foot, but by helicopter only. There are many guided heli–hike options, as well as scenic flights for both glaciers. Flights are generally best early in the morning, when visibility tends to be clearest. Summer may be warmer, but there is more rain and fog that can scuttle flightseeing and hiking plans. In winter, there are fewer people, and the skies are clearer, which means fewer canceled flights and more spectacular views. In fact, winter in this area can be a lot warmer than the snow resort towns east of the Southern Alps. Note that the glaciers are currently receding fast, and with less ice to bind their rocks, the mountains and valleys are increasingly prone to slips and landslides. Accordingly, access roads and trails change regularly for safety reasons; do check with the Department of Conservation (DOC) or i-SITE Visitor Informtion Centre about current conditions, and be sure to heed all DOC warning signs. Away from the ice, just a five-minute drive west of Fox Glacier township is the walk around Lake Matheson, leading to one of the country's most famous views. A trail winds by the lakeshore to where (weather permitting) the snowcapped peaks of Aoraki/Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman are reflected in the water. It's an easy 2.6-km (1-mile) walk right around the lake. The best times to visit are sunrise and sunset, when the mirror-like reflections are less likely to be fractured by the wind. Other beautiful park walks are on the coast; at Gillespies Beach (coastal wetlands and forests and wild surf), and at Ōkārito, where your choices are the wetland boardwalk (20 minutes), Ōkārito Trig for an amazing viewpoint of Ōkārito Lagoon and Aoraki/Mt. Cook (1½ hour round-trip), and the Three Mile Pack Track, where you can return along the beach if you get the tide right.