Welcome to Hokitika, West of the Southern Alps, West Coast Heartland. Here, visitors are welcome to rub shoulders with West Coasters & to experience the stories of nature, history & culture that are at the heart of Hokitika.  Such a special place! Hokitika is a small friendly town of 3500 folk, sandwiched between surf & river, only 20km from the mighty Southern Alps. The Hokitika area runs north & south to the old goldtowns of Kumara & Ross. This brochure tells you how to find us, the stories to look for, what you can do, & where to stay, eat & shop.   Wild Nature Backed by its wild & beautiful beach & river, Hokitika is at the centre of an area known for rainforests & wetlands. When it rains, it rains!  We have similar sunshine hours to Auckland, Wellington & Christchurch  but at 2800 mm per year, we enjoy much more rain. Just 20km inland, the Alps form a ‘dam’ to moisture-laden westerly winds, with one of the world’s highest rainfalls of over 14100 mm in the headwaters of the Hokitika River. However, as well as being sunny, this is still the least windy region in the country. Coasters & forests flourish in the equitable temperatures, warmed in winter & cooled in summer by the ocean’s influence. Coasters quietly grumble & tell stories during wet weather & then rejoice in the dramatic cloud clearances from the south.  When the clearance comes, look south to New Zealand’s highest mountains, Mts. Cook (Aoraki) & Tasman (Horo Kawau). Come prepared for the weather & get out into nature, wet or fine.   Pounamu For hundreds of years Hokitika and its surrounding area, especially the Arahura River, has been nationally important as a source of pounamu, otherwise known as greenstone, NZ jade or nephrite.  Pounamu can take an edge as tough as steel, and has a beauty all of its own. As it was well suited to making tools, weapons and personal ornaments, it was (& still is) a taonga or great treasure. Mäori travelled from throughout the country  trading for pounamu from this area.  The South Island takes one of its Mäori names, Te Wahi Pounamu, from the stone. Ngäi Tahu is the tribe with guardianship of the pounamu vested under its authority. The tangata whenua (people of the land) of the West Coast are known as Poutini Ngäi Tahu in recognition of an ancestor whose name is given to the West Coast, Te Tai o Poutini (the Tides of Poutini).