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Voykit pocket guide · New Zealand

Hokitika

Stop one night on the West Coast drive: the gorge, the glowworm dell and a pounamu workshop fill a day; two nights if you want Lake Kaniere.

Hokitika is a small gold-rush town on the Tasman Sea, 3 h from Christchurch over Arthur's Pass and 40 min from Greymouth. Almost everything sits on the crooked main street, Revell Street, so you can park once and walk. It works as a single overnight between the glaciers and the north, or as a wet-day base when the coast rain sets in.

AkaroaArrowtownBlenheimCambridgeCharlestonChristchurchDevonportDunedinFox GlacierFranz JosefGisborneGreymouthHaastHamiltonHokitika200 kmdots: other places in this guide
Sketch, not to navigate by: shapes follow this guide’s areas and places, not official boundaries. North is up.
Country
New Zealand
Best months
Dec–Mar; Feb–Apr for the clearest glacier and gorge days
Avoid
Jun–Aug (wet, 8–12 °C days); the coast gets 2–3 m of rain a year
Stay
1–2 nights

Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.

Essentials

Currency
NZD
Money
Currency is the New Zealand dollar (NZD, NZ$). Cards and phone payments are accepted almost everywhere; some small rural stalls and honesty boxes are cash.
Daily spend
Budget NZ$90–140 excl. bed · Mid NZ$160–250 excl. bed · High NZ$300+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
SIM and data
One NZ, Spark and 2degrees sell tourist SIMs at Auckland and Christchurch arrivals and in supermarkets; passport not required.
Emergency
Police, fire, ambulance 111 · Non-urgent police 105
Plugs
Types I · 230 V · 50 Hz · Same angled two- or three-pin plug as Australia, Fiji and China; switch the socket on at the wall.
Tipping
Café or restaurant: Nothing expected; 10% for very good service at dinner is a bonus.; Taxi / Uber: Nothing; round up if you like.; Guide or tour: Optional NZ$10–20 for a day guide.; Hotel: Nothing.; Public holidays: Cafés may add a 10–15% holiday surcharge to the bill; it is legal and shown on menus.
Water
Tap water is safe almost everywhere; follow boil-water notices in small rural schemes. Treat stream water in the backcountry.
Toilets
Free public toilets in every town and at most lookouts; DOC long-drops on tracks. Carry paper; never use the roadside.

What things cost

ItemPrice
CoffeeNZ$5–7
Café lunch or a toastieNZ$12–22
Pub main (fish and chips, burger)NZ$25–38
Draught beer in a pubNZ$9–12
Supermarket self-catering, per person per dayNZ$20–30
Petrol, per litreNZ$2.50–3.00 (check)
eSIM or data SIM, about a weekNZ$20–40

Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.

Get in

By air

HKK · Hokitika Airport
Air New Zealand flights from Christchurch; the terminal is a 5-min drive north of the centre
CHC · Christchurch Airport
Most travellers drive from here: about 3 h via Arthur's Pass on SH73

Typical fares

Hokitika → Greymouth by coach
about 40 min; InterCity coaches run the coast (check)
Hokitika → Christchurch by car
about 3 h via Arthur's Pass, SH73
Hokitika → Franz Josef by car
about 2 h on SH6

Get around

The town is flat and small: Revell Street, Weld Street and Tancred Street hold nearly all the shops and cafés, 10–15 min on foot end to end. You need a car for the gorge, Lake Kaniere, the treetop walkway and the glowworm dell. No local bus network worth planning around; taxis are few, so arrange a pickup if you go out at night.

See and do

Known for

  • Hokitika Gorge and its swingbridge
  • Glowworm Dell
  • Pounamu (West Coast jade) carving
  • Wildfoods Festival in March
  • Driftwood beach sign

Day trips

WhereHowTime
Hokitika GorgeDrive SH6 east then the gorge road; 33 km, sealed the whole wayAbout 30 min each way, plus 30–45 min on the track
Lake Kaniere and Dorothy FallsKaniere Road east from town, then the lakeside road20–30 min each way
West Coast Treetop WalkwayDrive SH6 south to Woodstock-Rimu RoadAbout 20 min each way
Greymouth and ShantytownSH6 north, 40 min to Greymouth; Shantytown is on the wayAbout 40 min each way
Punakaiki blowholesSH6 north past GreymouthAbout 1 h 30 min each way
Franz Josef and Fox glaciersSH6 south, 2 h to Franz Josef, 2 h 30 min to Fox2–2.5 h each way

Sleep

Revell Street and the town centre
Motels, B&Bs and the pubs; walk to dinner and the beach. Book ahead in March for the Wildfoods Festival.
Beachside, north end of Revell Street
Holiday park and motels near the beach sign; quieter, 15–20 min walk to the shops.
Kaniere Road
3–4 km inland toward Lake Kaniere; cheaper units, you need a car.

Phrase card

EnglishSay or show
Kia ora — hello / thank youKia oraKEE-ah OR-ah
Thank youNgā mihingah MEE-hee
PleaseKoaKOH-ah
Where is the toilet?Kei hea te wharepaku?kay HAY-ah teh FAH-reh-PAH-koo
How much is it?E hia te utu?eh HEE-ah teh OO-too
Can I pay by card?Ka taea te utu ki te kāri?kah TAH-eh-ah teh OO-too kee teh KAH-ree

Etiquette, safety and scams

Etiquette

  • Greeting: Kia ora or a handshake; first names from the start; avoid: Formal titles; overlong small talk before business
  • Marae visit: Wait to be called on, follow your guide through the pōwhiri, remove shoes before the meeting house; avoid: Eating or drinking inside the wharenui; walking in front of speakers
  • Tables and heads: Keep bottoms off tables and hats off tables; food stays away from heads; avoid: Sitting on tables or kitchen benches; touching people's heads
  • Roads: Pull over at slow-vehicle bays to let queues pass; wave thanks; avoid: Stopping on the road for photos; drifting right after a stop
  • Outdoors: Carry out all rubbish; use toilets; stick to tracks; avoid: Feeding kea and other birds; toileting outside
  • Talk: Self-deprecating humour and understatement; avoid: Calling New Zealanders Australians; boasting
  • Home visit: Bring wine or something to share; shoes off if the hosts do; avoid: Arriving empty-handed to a 'bring a plate' event
  • Names: Use Māori place names and pronounce them with care; avoid: Joking about Māori words or haka

Scams and watch-outs

  • West Coast rain is the norm: bring a waterproof shell and expect one wet day in three.
  • Sandflies at Lake Kaniere, the gorge and the river mouths; repellent is essential.
  • The Hokitika Museum has been closed for seismic work since 2019: check before you plan around it.
  • St Mary's Catholic Church has been closed since 2012 for earthquake risk; view it from outside.
  • One-lane bridges on SH6 and the gorge road: slow down and read the signs.
  • Cell coverage drops on the road to the gorge and south of town.

A small, quiet town and one of the safer stops on the West Coast. The real risks are weather and driving: wet, winding roads, one-lane bridges, and no phone signal on the gorge road or south of town.

One and two days

No timed day plan for Hokitika yet. Suggested stay: 1–2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.

  • Hokitika Gorge and its swingbridge
  • Glowworm Dell
  • Pounamu (West Coast jade) carving
  • Wildfoods Festival in March
  • Driftwood beach sign

Sources

Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.

Pocket card

Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.

Hokitika

Ki tēnei wāhi, koa

To this address, please

My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)

  • Police, fire, ambulance111
  • Non-urgent police105

No embassies in Hokitika; the nearest consulates are in Christchurch, and embassies are in Wellington.

Hokitika is small: fill the tank and buy groceries before 21:00, and book dinner in March when the Wildfoods Festival is on.

Voykit · checked 2026-09

Printed from Voykit (/hokitika). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.