The Great Coast Road
Expect good banter and big meals at this busy pub, which serves food throughout the day. Corn fritter stacks, rib-eye steaks and pub mainstays like fish and chips feature on the menu, while a pool table and mixed cast of locals and tourists keep the ambience lively.
Heading north out of Punakaiki, the tavern's on the left before you cross the Porari River. Buy wi-fi vouchers from the bar.
0.68 MILES
Punakaiki's claim to fame is Dolomite Point, where a layering-weathering process called stylobedding has carved the limestone into what looks like piles…
27.12 MILES
Every gold-rush town needs a still, and Reefton's got a goodie in the form of this operation that makes use of foraged botanicals and spring water sourced…
27.93 MILES
Remote Waiuta is one of the West Coast's most famous ghost towns. Spread over a plateau, this once-burgeoning gold town was swiftly abandoned after the…
27.86 MILES
Westport's 'black gold' is paid homage at this remarkably interesting museum, adjoining the i-SITE. A replica mine, well-scripted display panels and an…
24.83 MILES
The original Monteith's brewhouse is the HQ for this nationally famous beer brand: glossy and a wee bit corporate, but it delivers a high-quality…
24.39 MILES
A wide community of West Coast artists is represented in this former bank, which displays contemporary NZ prints, paintings, photographs, jewellery and…
18.15 MILES
Blackball's major talking point is this century-old pub, once known as the Dominion. When it was renamed in the 1990s, a certain global hotel chain got…
16.3 MILES
For a true taste of the region’s gold-mining past, swing into this former mine, 3km north of Charleston. You'll get a friendly primer on the 1860s mining…
0.68 MILES
Punakaiki's claim to fame is Dolomite Point, where a layering-weathering process called stylobedding has carved the limestone into what looks like piles…
16.3 MILES
For a true taste of the region’s gold-mining past, swing into this former mine, 3km north of Charleston. You'll get a friendly primer on the 1860s mining…
3. Formerly the Blackball Hilton
18.15 MILES
Blackball's major talking point is this century-old pub, once known as the Dominion. When it was renamed in the 1990s, a certain global hotel chain got…
4. Blackball Museum of Working Class History (Mahi Tūpuna)
18.16 MILES
Consisting of outdoor displays and a couple of shipping containers, this appropriately humble 'museum' tells the fascinating story of how Blackball came…
24.39 MILES
A wide community of West Coast artists is represented in this former bank, which displays contemporary NZ prints, paintings, photographs, jewellery and…
24.46 MILES
When we passed through, this pictorial museum of Greymouth's gold rush days was closed indefinitely, to allow the handsome 1924 building to undergo…
24.83 MILES
The original Monteith's brewhouse is the HQ for this nationally famous beer brand: glossy and a wee bit corporate, but it delivers a high-quality…
27.12 MILES
Every gold-rush town needs a still, and Reefton's got a goodie in the form of this operation that makes use of foraged botanicals and spring water sourced…