The Wet West Coast

The most obvious fact about the west coast of the South Island is that it rains a lot. Ten meters of rainfall a year is not uncommon here. This leads to some very interesting features, including the dense rainforests with immense fern trees that look like something out of the dinosaur days.

Whether clear or rainy, the views along the rugged coast can be spectacular. The coast is also a fine place to view wildlife, such as seals and penguins. The penguins are very shy, and it can take a lot of patience to spot one.

The heavy rains and high mountains close to the shore make this one of the few places in the world where glaciers are advancing. The Fox and Franz Joseph glaciers decend into subtropical rainforests, a situation which occurs elsewhere only in Chile.

The heavy rain also leads to a unique condition in Milford Sound, where several feet of fresh water sit on top of the salt water, creating conditions which encourage deep water corals to grow surprisingly close to the surface.

The area north of Greymouth, and including Charleston, is home of many caves. Adventure companies offer a variety of interesting cave tours. The interesting geology manifests itself in the "Pancake Rocks and Blowholes" on the shore north of Greymouth. On a stormy day, the water is forced up through holes in the rock to make impressive geysers.

Each small picture is linked to a larger version with a caption.


Knight's Point	Pancake Rocks	Fox Glacier Neve

Penguin	Fox Glacier	Glacier Walk

Up: New Zealand Adventures

Journal: December 26 - 30