Punakaiki & the Paparoa Coast — Greymouth to Westport(SH6).
Distance
101 km
Duration
1 day
Climb
600 m
Punakaiki & the Paparoa Coast — Greymouth to Westport (SH6).
State Highway 6 hugs the wild West Coast between Greymouth and Westport, pinned between the Tasman Sea and the Paparoa Range. The centrepiece is Punakaiki, where the layered Pancake Rocks erupt with blowholes at high tide. Nikau palms, sea-cliff sweepers and near-empty tarmac make this one of the South Island's great coastal rides.
Quick facts
SurfacePaved
Distance101 km
Days1
Total climb600 m
DifficultyModerate
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The route.
GreymouthStart · Largest town on the West Coast and the last reliable fuel and coffee before the coast road. Fill up here.
Barrytown FlatsScenic Point · A long straight across coastal flats with the Paparoa Range rising sharply inland — a rare flat-out stretch on an otherwise twisty coast.
Punakaiki Pancake RocksPhoto Spot · The famous stacked limestone formations and blowholes. Time your stop for high tide when the surge sends spray through the vents. Short 20-min loop walk.
CharlestonScenic Point · A near-ghost gold-rush town, now a base for cave rafting. The road here rolls through regenerating bush right above the surf.
Cape Foulwind & Tauranga BayPhoto Spot · Named by Captain Cook after foul weather turned him back. A short walkway leads to a seal colony and the 1926 lighthouse.
WestportEnd · End of the coast run at the mouth of the Buller River. Good food and beds, and the gateway to the Buller Gorge if continuing inland.
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