Features
Rock in the Copland River Westland
National Park
Split by the Alpine Fault, Tai Poutini/Westland is a place of dramatic contrasts. To the east of the fault mountains rise suddenly – steep forested slopes cut deeply with impassable gorges. High above, permanent snowfields feed a myriad of glaciers, including Fox Glacier/Te Moeka o Tuawe and Franz Josef Glacier/Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere, which descend right down to the lowlands. Dense rainforest dominated by rimu covers the lowlands west of the fault. Nearer the coast, there are scenic lakes, wetlands and wide river mouths.
The lowland waters of Tai Poutini/Westland are stained an amazing deep brown colour by humic material seeping through from the soil. Wading birds and other water-loving creatures thrive in the wetlands around the coast. The threatened kāmana/crested grebe, are found on Lake Māpōurika, and Ōkārito Lagoon is famous for the stunning kōtuku/white heron. In the heart of lowland forest lives the only population of the endangered rowi/Ōkārito brown kiwi. Invertebrate species include alpine moths, black alpine cicadas and the mountain ringlet butterfly.
Before Pakeha, Māori travelled the coast and mountain passes for centuries. The mountains were of great importance to Māori people and are revered as the ancestors of Ngāi Tahu – the tangata whenua or ‘people of the land’.
Te Tai o Poutini (the tides of the West Coast) is the name given to the West Coast of the South Island. For Ngāi Tahu the coastal environment is of considerable significance, both spiritually and for the wealth of its natural resources, which fed, clothed and housed their people. There were large settlements of Māori at Ōkārito, Makaawhio/Jacobs River, Mahitahi/Bruce Bay, Paringa, Arawhata, Neils Beach, Okahu/Jackson Bay and as far south as Whakatipuwaitai/Martins Bay.
European interest in the area began with sealers chasing the New Zealand kekeno/fur seal but settlement of the West Coast was sporadic, until gold was discovered. Remains of old gold mining towns can still be seen today.