On our first visit to the New Zealand’s West Coast we planned first to drive over from Christchurch via the Lewis Pass and spend a night in Westport, then drive down the coast and spend some time there doing walks in glacier country. Nevertheless, we had a couple of hours spare in Westport and went out to see the coast and discovered the pleasant Cape Foulwind Walkway. A local school and the DOC have been re-vegetating this coastal strip with native plants since the 90’s, so it is quite attractive in places.
There is also a seal colony to the south near Tauranga Bay, although we didn’t have the time to complete the walk and see this. We were lucky though to encounter one of these apparently friendly residents hanging around on a secluded section of coast that you can drop down to on an unofficial track.
Track notes at the end.
Cape Foulwind Walkway: The Scenery
Track Notes
It’s an obvious and well constructed path the whole way. We completed only about half the walk due to limited time, although we dropped down to have a look at the beach and a headland, which was nice. The dotted red line is the bit we didn’t do. Note that the track down to the beach was not constructed or maintained, and although very short was a bit steep. We started near the lighthouse but you can also walk this route from the south, which is where the seal colony is. More information on the DOC website.
