Getting There & Getting Around
By Plane -- Air New Zealand Link (tel. 0800/737-000 in NZ; www.airnz.com) flies daily to Westport from Wellington.
By Coach (Bus) -- Westport is serviced daily by InterCity (tel. 09/913-6100). Both Magic Travellers (tel. 09/358-5600) and Kiwi Experience (tel. 09/366-9830) also include Westport on their schedules.
To get from Westport to Karamea, go with either Cunningham's Coaches (tel. 03/789-7177), which charges NZ$20 (US$14/£7.20) per person one-way, NZ$10 (US$7.10/£3.60) for bikes; or Karamea Express (tel. 03/782-6757), which charges NZ$20 (US$14/£7.20). Both make the trip Monday through Friday and connect with other bus services to Nelson, Greymouth, Hokitika, and Christchurch. Drive Me Wild Hikers' Transport (tel. 0800/945-369 in NZ, or 03/546-8876; www.drivemewild.co.nz) offers transport on both sides of Heaphy Track. From Karamea, they travel to Nelson via Westport and Motueka on the day you finish walking.
By Car -- Westport can be reached on Highway 6 from Greymouth in the south in about 2 hours, or from Nelson via the Buller Gorge in approximately 3 1/2 hours. All roads are good, but look out for single-lane bridges and those that share the bridge with trains -- a unique West Coast feature.
The Long Road -- The West Coast is the longest region in New Zealand -- 550km (340 miles) -- which is roughly equivalent to driving from Auckland to Wellington. In many ways -- certainly geographically -- it is an epic journey and it is important that you don't under-estimate driving times. Take care at all times and stop to enjoy the quaint townships and spectacular scenery along the way.
Visitor Information
The Westport i-SITE Information Centre, 1 Brougham St. (tel. 03/789-6658; fax 03/789-6668; www.westport.org.nz), opposite the post office, is open in summer daily from 9am to 6pm, and in winter Monday through Friday from 9am to 4pm (closed Dec 25).
