It’s been no secret how a lot I really like New Zealand’s West Coast.
Ever since my first go to in 2013, I’ve been enamored with this quiet but highly effective nook of New Zealand. The least populated area, the West Coast, stretched virtually your entire size of the South Island. Home to large mountains, uncommon birds, historical forests, and no folks, it couldn’t be extra good, particularly for introverts like me.
But nowhere captures my coronary heart greater than the stretch of shoreline from Greymouth to Westport, particularly round Punakaiki. It’s a spot that vacationers go to however not as many as different spots on the South Island with extra dramatic vistas. This a part of the West Coast is all about slowing down, taking it simple, and having fun with being in nature.
You can’t rush right here; it’s a spot that conjures up mindfulness and rest. I come right here no less than yearly to go off the grid, chill out, and reset, and I usually come up right here to jot down. This previous winter, I spent virtually every week on the Perfect Stranger’s Bach on a West Coast getaway, which was magical.
There is one thing so nostalgic about being by the ocean. I usually marvel if it speaks to some historical a part of our manufacturers; are we tapping into one thing we inherently crave however can’t vocalize? Why? I feel so. Can you relate?
One of my favourite issues about this a part of the West Coast is that it’s stuffed with hideaways and outdated baches (basic kiwi vacation properties) hidden amongst the flax bushes beside the ocean. With its dense rainforests, you usually don’t even know they’re there. Over the years, I’ve stayed in lots of them, loving all of them. Each and everybody has an epic story and make for an unforgettable West Coast getaway.
Perhaps I really like this space as a result of it does really feel like a unique decade. With little cellphone reception to being fairly distant, many baches have instructions like “2.3 kilometers past the bridge by the third-mile sign, and if you come to the big bay, you’ve gone too far.”
Far out, I really like that.
This time I spent 5 days on the Perfect Strangers Bach, simply north of Punakaiki.
One of the OG baches of its time, it’s tucked away proper in regards to the surf. Family-owned for many years, discerning readers would possibly acknowledge the identify from the 2003 kiwi movie Perfect Strangers, a lot of which was shot right here. Trust me; it’s much more tranquil in actual life.
Welcome to my completely satisfied place! I’ve pushed by this spot so many instances, however until you understand it’s right here, you’ll miss it. It’s so distant that you just park alongside State Highway 6 and wander right down to it. There’s not plenty of visitors on this a part of the nation.
Weka positively outnumber the locals right here, accurately.
A secret I spill so usually it might probably’t actually be known as a secret anymore is that I feel New Zealand’s West Coast is greatest skilled in winter, Punakiki particularly.
From Fiordland as much as Golden Bay, the winds die down within the wintertime, and the ocean turns into calm. The clouds disappear, and also you usually get stunning bluebird nonetheless, clear and heat days. Because it’s such a wild place, folks are inclined to assume that winter should be the worst climate, once I’ve discovered the other to be true. Big storms are available summer time.
And when you stand up to Punakaiki and additional north, it sits in a wee trans-Tasman microclimate that brings heat, humid air. That’s why you get so many tropical native palms and nikau right here. You may even develop fruit that in any other case you could possibly solely develop far north on the North Island.
The locals will most likely homicide me for sharing this, however I can’t assist it.
But by far, one of the best a part of staying on the Perfect Stranger’s Bach on a West Coast getaway is that you’ve your individual non-public seashore.
There aren’t any cabanas or coconuts right here, nevertheless it gives among the shoreline’s greatest views. You have a sandy seashore plus rockpools to discover – at all times test the tide instances; low is greatest. And there’s an impressive quantity of mussels to forage alongside the shoreline. Is there something higher than white wine linguini with mussels you caught your self? Nope, there isn’t.
Just scripting this has made me so nostalgic for this unimaginable place. To go to sleep to waves crashing alongside the seashore and native birdsong within the air is nothing wanting magical.
Where’s your haven? Do you may have a favourite place by the ocean that calls to you? Share!
Many because of Perfect Strangers for internet hosting me on the West Coast – like at all times, I’m preserving it actual – as you could possibly anticipate much less from me!