Day 3 of our West Coast road trip brings us a bit further down the coast, from Punakaiki to Greymouth, Hokitika, and the nearby Lake Kaniere.
Catch up on our first few days if you missed them:
Day 1 ○ Day 2 ○ Day 4 ○ Day 5 ○ Day 6 ○ Day 7
Greymouth
We started our day off with a 40-minute drive from Punakaiki to Greymouth. Hungry and desperately needing coffee, I checked Google Maps to find the best-reviewed cafe (this is one of the easiest ways to find good places to go!). We ended up going to Sevenpenny, a bustling and inviting cafe in the center of town. The food was delicious and the coffee perked me right up. After taking a quick stroll down the street, we headed off south towards Hokitika.
Dorothy Falls & Lake Kaniere
An hour drive, the end of it down a narrow, winding road, brought us to Dorothy Falls. I love any excuse to see a good waterfall, so we spent a few minutes here watching the water rush down the rocks. The water in the pools below was frigid, so we didn’t end up getting in at all here.
Directly across from the waterfall, you’ll see an opening in the forest. If you follow this rocky trail down about five minutes, you’ll reach an opening to Lake Kaniere. There’s a lovely bench facing the water, which is shallow and actually quite warm. We didn’t see a single soul here, which makes this the perfect wee swimming hole!
Side note: the lake floor here is actually really nice to walk on as it’s mostly sand and rocks. If you’re a baby like me, however, I’d highly recommend using water shoes (aka aqua socks). When I wear these bad boys, I feel way more comfortable walking into the depths of the water. Plus, you know that you won’t cut your feet up on shells or step on any sea creatures. I am clearly obsessed.
After our lovely swim at our secret swimming hole, we drove back north along the winding road until we reached the more popular part of Lake Kaniere. We posted the van up on the grass, sat on some poufs, and had some lunch. This part of Lake Kaniere seems like a very popular holiday spot, with tons of families, dogs, and boats.
Hokitika Beach
Once we were done at the lake, we drove the half-hour back towards Hokitika to chill on the beach. There is a very popular sign here, made of driftwood and flax, that was entered in a competition a few years ago. The creator of the sign still cares for it and it has now become a much-photographed symbol of the West Coast.
The beach itself is quite nice as well. It’s wide, spacious, and the sand is fine and soft. I imagine that it’d be a nice beach for surfing or water sports if you’re into that.
Glow worm dell
We relaxed at the beach, went out for dinner at Kitchen Hokitika (which was delicious), and chilled a bit in the van before going to the glow worm dell. The glow worms that are found in New Zealand are actually a type of fungus gnat (yuck). They produce blueish bioluminescence to attract prey into their sticky threads.
The bioluminescence is best seen at night, so we went into the dell at around 9:45 pm. Once you turn the corner and your eyes adjust to the darkness, you can see hundreds of tiny blue dots. It’s really beautiful and looks like a starry night sky on the walls. The actual dell isn’t that large, so seeing the glow worms only took us around a few minutes total. The best part of Hokitika’s glow worm dell is that it’s free!
After seeing the glow worms, we drove about 15 minutes to get to the West Coast treetop walk. The center has a wonderful (free!) campsite. There are toilets, so you don’t have to have a self-contained campervan to stay there. It’s a great place to park up for the night — just make sure that you keep all of your doors and windows closed. We were attacked by mosquitoes and sandflies after opening our door for some fresh air.
That’s a wrap on day 3 of our West Coast road trip! On day 4, Ben and I do the West Coast treetop walk and the Hokitika gorge track.
xoxo Niki
