Gateway to the Westcoast of the South Island New Zealand.

Stretching from the south banks of the Punakaiki River in the north to the Taramakau River in the south and out to Moana and the Little Grey River at Ikamatua in the Grey Valley. A small district with a vast diversity, rich in history and an abundance of character.

Greymouth the main centre of the Grey District lies beside the Tasman Sea and the Grey River. It is the geographic and commercial heart of the West Coast, with the largest population. Today it is seen as an ideal base to explore the beautiful region of the West Coast.

No wider than 70 kilometres at any point, the mountains look closer, the lakes clearer, the rivers larger and faster, the forests more lush than anywhere else in the country. The region displays a great variety of mountains to the sea eco-systems; unique alpine flora, vast podocarp forests, temperate coastal forests featuring flowering rata, kowhai and nikau palms, diverse wetlands and much more. Many parts of the region serve as time capsules to show us what our country looked like before humans arrived 1000 years ago.

It is highly likely that glorious image of New Zealand you see in a book, calendar, magazine or poster is the South Island's West Coast. New Zealanders simply refer to this narrow strip of land as the Coast': a rugged and primeval region that plunges westward from the Southern Alps a chain of cloud-piercing mountains through luxurious rain forest to a breathtaking coast.