Gold rush memories and scenic grandeur

South of Westport, Highway 6 curves southwest across Addisons Flat; little remains of the gold diggings that once lured thousands of miners here.

In Charleston, the European Hotel keeps the gold rush era alive with its collection of photographs and mining relics. Charleston's tiny roadside post office serves an extensive area of the Coast.

After climbing into the hills south of Charleston, the highway hugs the shore as it cuts through some of the wildest shoreline scenery in New Zealand. Subtropical greenery blankets the slopes of the craggy coastline to the very edge of the Tasman Sea. Large nikau palms, tree ferns, flax, and hebe species border the exposed coast; just inland rise rimu, miro, beech, and rata trees. Bush birds include the bellbird, tomtit, and weka.

The stratified Punakaiki Pancake Rocks, one of the Coast's best known features, jut into the sea on Dolomite Point about midway between Westport and Greymouth.

Centuries of surf action at this spot have tunneled out rocky grottoes, surge pools, and blow holes beneath the thinly layered limestone headland. On clear days you can see the Southern Alps from here. At the visitor center across the highway in Punakaiki, you'll find tourist facilities and displays explaining features of this geologic anomaly. A modern campground is nearby, and trails lead into the bush and along the coast.