Westland National Park covers 117,000 hectares (292500 acres) on the western side of the Southern Alps, about halfway down the length of the South Island.

Specific references for this page: Craig Potton 1998:National Parks of New Zealand. Craig Potton Publishing. Andris Apse 1997: Te Wahipounamu - South-West New Zealand, World Heritage Area. Craig Potton Publishing. Gerald Cubitt and Les Molloy 1994:Wild New Zealand. New Holland. From Mountains to Sea - The Story of Westland National Park 1985. Department of Lands and Survey. Robbie Burton & Maggie Atkinson 1998: A Tramper's Guide to New Zealand National Parks. Reed Graeme Egarr 1995:New Zealand's South Island Rivers - A Guide for Canoeists, Kayakers and Rafters. Nikau Press. John Cobb 1990: The Walking Tracks of New Zealand's National Parks. Viking. From Mountains to Sea - The story of Westland National Park. Department of Lands and Survey 1985.

In the east on the main divide it shares its boundary with Mt Cook National Park. It was created in 1960 to protect an area of high mountains and glaciers, and was then extended in 1982 with the lowlands and coastal areas of South Okarito and South Waikukupa. In less than 30 km (18.6 miles) it now encompasses the whole cross-section of the South Island west of the main divide, from the sea and lowland forests up to the glaciers and highest summits of the Southern Alps.
"There are few places left on earth like Westland where a complete cross section of the landscape from the tops of the highest mountains right down to the sea is still in a near wilderness state". Excerpt from From Mountains to the Sea - The Story of Westland National Park
"To watch from the coast at Okarito Lagoon or the mouth of the Waiho River as the sun sets on these forests and the snows of the Southern Alps is to be one with a great work of nature". From Brian Enting and les Molloy: Wild New Zealand.
See below Activities - What to see and do in Westland National Park.

Geological setting
  Perhaps the major geological feature of the park is the Alpine Fault, which marks the overland boundary between the Pacific tectonic plate (carrying the Southern Alps) and the Australian tectonic plate (carrying the lowlands and coast).
   The plates slide past each other along the fault, but during the last 7 million years compression along the fault has resulted in the Pacific plate straddling the Australian plate, thus causing the rise of the Southern Alps.
   This movement is still active, and close to the fault the rate of uplift is very high, in excess of 10 mm (0.4 in.) per year. It is estimated that the total uplift in these seven million years has been in excess of 20 km (12.4 miles). But because of an equally very high rate of erosion the mountains may never have been higher than their current altitude.
   These characteristics explain why the mountains rise so abruptly from the coastal lowlands. The Alpine Fault itself runs right at the foot of the mountains, and on the main divide the highest summits are seldom further than 15 km (9.3 miles) from it.
  The Alpine fault also marks a boundary between the schists (Haast Schists) of the Southern Alps and the much older (upper precambrian) granitic paragneisses, orthogneisses, greywackes and schists which form the basement of the lowlands.
See also:
the Southern Alps
Tectonics in New Zealand
Rocks of the New Zealand mountains

Glacial landforms
There are over 60 named glaciers in the park. Many are small, but several others, like Balfour and La Perouse, are over 8 km (5 miles) long. Indeed Fox and Franz Joseph Glaciers, whose glacial tongues flow through the forest down to an altitude of 300 m (984'), are the greatest public attractions of the park.

Climatic conditions
   New Zealand lies at the northern edge of the belt of low pressures that circle the southern oceans (the Roaring Forties) from west to east. This sets the general weather pattern in the Southern Alps and the South Island, with a succession of low pressure systems that bring strong westerly winds and bad weather, and high pressure systems that generally bring gentler winds and fine weather.
   Cold and warm fronts can pass in close succession and this results in a very changeable, unpredictable weather. However this pattern does not preclude the occurrence of longer periods of either good or bad weather.
  The actual weather in the park results from the effect of the mountains on the general weather pattern. The moist air is forced to rise and this result in very high precipitation on the western side of the Southern Alps, which counts some of the wettest places on earth. Rainfall is 3000 mm (118 in.) per year on the coast, 4700 mm (185 in.) per year at Fox and Franz Joseph, and up to 15,000 mm (590 in.) in the mountains, much of it as snow (50 m/164' annually in the neves of Fox and Franz Joseph Galciers).
   There are many days of calm, fine weather in Westland, but rain can be very heavy. A total rainfall of 650 mm (25 in.) was recorded at Franz Joseph in a 72-hour storm, with 1810 mm (71 in.) further up on Alex Knob.
See also the Climatic influence in the New Zealand mountains
 
Forests
 The forests of Westland stretch in a thick mantle from the ocean's edge, across the lowlands, and up the mountain sides. Some have been cleared for farming, especially the kahikatea forests of the more fertile, flat areas. But they remain a largely untouched wilderness of dense rainforest.

The lowlands are the domain of the podocarp. Kahikatea forest remains only in pockets. As it is usually located on better drained, more fertile soils, much of it was cleared for farming. This was equally the case with matai/totara forest on similar, albeit somewhat better drained, soils. So the lowland podocarp forests of Westland are now dominated by rimu, as well as kamahi and rata, which grow on moraines and older, less fertile soils.

Higher up on the foothills and lower mountain slopes the forest is dominated by rata and kamahi, with kaikawaka (New Zealand cedar) in the colder areas, and a thick understory of shrubs and tree ferns.

Beyond an altitude of 1000 m (3280'), and up to about 1200 m (3937'), no tall trees can grow and the forest is replaced by a belt of subalpine forest, or shrubland. The main elements of the vegetation include several species of Dracophyllum, several species of tree daisy Olearia, Senecio, astelias and ferns.

The alpine zone
Beyond 1200 m (3937') the tall snowgrasses (several species of tussock Chionochloa) predominate, with daisies (Celmisia), buttercups (Ranunculus), gentians, spaniards (Aciphylla). At about 1500 m (4921') these associations give way to low grasses and herbs, up to about 1800 m (5905') where only lichens survive.

Birds
Two species of kiwi inhabit Westland National Park: the great spotted kiwi is found throughout the park, while the Okarito brown kiwi is restricted to the southern Okarito forest.
A colony of white herons is located very close to Okarito Lagoon. It is the only such long term colony in New Zealand. Since 1950 it has been shared by royal spoonbills. Kakas inhabit the podocarp forests, while keas can be seen down to the carparks.

Introduced animals
Goats are found in the costal areas, red deer in the forests, chamois and thar in the alpine zone, and opossums from the subalpine zone down to the seashore.

Activities - What to see and do in Westland National Park

Short and day walks
Westland coast and lowland forest from the Okarito Trig hill. Photo NC.
 Westland National Park includes a complete cross-section of the landscape of the South Island of New Zealand, west of the main divide, from the highest summits of the Southern Alps down to the sea. There is no road access into the high country, so that all short walks are located in the lowlands.
  At Fox and Franz Joseph it is possible to get good views of the glaciers from high points, and to go very close to the glaciers' terminal tongues. A few longer walks lead to places above the snowline with extensive views of the glaciers, the main divide, the lowland forests and the sea.
  Westland National Park retains some of the most extensive tracts of native forest in New Zealand, especially lowland rimu and kahikatea forest. There is a choice of walks to discover and enjoy these magnificent places. Especially popular are the walks to Lakes Matheson and Gault. These two small lakes are set in old moraines and surrounded by dense forest, their dark waters reflecting perfect mirror images of the glaciated peaks of the Southern Alps.
  Closer to the sea, several walks give access to the beaches and the wild coastline. From Okarito Trig there are fine views over Okarito Lagoon, the lowland forests, and the Southern Alps.

Wildlife
While the Okarito brown kiwi will be more easily heard than seen, the white heron colony can be visited.
A walk leads to the fur seal colony at Gillespie's beech.

Tramping
  Because of its extremely steep landscape and very high rainfall, Westland National Park offers limited scope for tramping, usually accessible for only the most experienced and determined parties.
  However the Copland Valley, thanks to a good track, bridges and huts, is popular with trampers of all levels (this does not include the crossing of the Copland Pass, which is a serious alpine undertaking requiring specific experience and equipment).
  The Karangarua Valley is also partly tracked and offers a more remote tramping experience than the Copland Valley.
There are also tramping routes in the lowland forests. Moraine ridges and the banks of the largest rivers usually provide the easiest going.

Mountaineering
  Westland National Park is, in conjunction with Mt Cook National Park with which it shares a common boundary along the main divide, the great mountaineering area of New Zealand.   Mountaineering activity is primarily centred on the peaks of the main divide. The Almer, Chancellor and Pioneer huts are the usual bases for climbing parties. This area is especially notorious for its very difficult ice climbs, like the Balfour Face of Mt Tasman and the South Face of Douglas. However there is a great variety of rock and snow climbs with a wide range of difficulty.
  Other glaciers are more difficult to access and some, like the Strauchon Glacier, are rarely visited in spite of interesting mountaineering potential.
  In spite of the use of aircraft, the high neves and glaciers of Westland remain an exceptionally isolated area. While there are plenty of fine weather periods to carry out climbs, the very changeable and very high precipitation weather pattern of Westland means that climbers must be prepared to withstand several days of bad weather if necessary.

Ski-touring
The neves of Fox and Franz Joseph Glaciers are one of the most popular ski-touring areas in New Zealand. A four day trip leads from the neve of Fox Glacier to the head of the Murchison Valley in Mt Cook National Park.

Kayaking
The main kayaking runs in the park are the Okarito, Waiho, Tatare, Fox, Cook and Karangarua rivers. All except the Okarito River flow through gorges out of the Southern Alps. Typically the runs are short, steep, in impressive gorges (Classes III to V). It should always be remembered that in Westland the weather is very changeable, with very high rainfall, and these rivers are especially prone to flash-flooding.

Fishing

Hunting
The shooting of red deer, thar and chamois in the park is encouraged. Permits are available from Fox and Franz Joseph Visitor Centres.