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Voykit pocket guide · New Zealand
Reefton
Stop for one night on the SH 7 drive between Greymouth and Westport: walk Broadway, do the 40-min powerhouse loop, sleep, leave by 10:00.
Reefton is a 1,000-person inland town on State Highway 7, 77 km (about 1 h) from both Greymouth and Westport. It is the West Coast's fourth-largest town and the first place in the Southern Hemisphere with a public electricity supply, switched on in 1888. There is no airport and no rail service, so you arrive by car or bus. The town is small enough to walk end to end in 15 minutes, and one night covers the museum, the heritage walk and a pub meal. Two nights only make sense if you fish, tramp or use it as a cheap base for the Buller and Inangahua valleys.
- Country
- New Zealand
- Best months
- Nov–Apr; Feb–Apr for settled weather
- Avoid
- Jun–Aug (wet, cold, short days)
- Stay
- 1 night
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$80–130 excl. bed · Mid NZ$130–220 excl. bed · High NZ$220+ 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 · Traffic and road conditions *555
- 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
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee or tea in a Broadway café | NZ$5–7 |
| Bakery pie or sandwich | NZ$6–12 |
| Pub main (roast, lamb shanks, fish and chips) | NZ$25–38 |
| Draught beer, pint | NZ$9–12 |
| Motel unit, 2 people, per night | NZ$105–220 |
| Petrol, per litre | NZ$2.50–3.00 |
| Reefton School of Mines entry | NZ$2 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- HKK · Hokitika Airport
- Nearest scheduled airport, about 1 h 30 min south by road; domestic flights only.
- CHC · Christchurch Airport
- Main South Island gateway; about 3 h 30 min by road via Arthur's Pass (check road conditions in winter).
- NSN · Nelson Airport
- About 2 h 30 min north-east via the Buller Gorge.
Typical fares
- Reefton → Greymouth, InterCity coach
- about NZ$25–40, about 1 h (check)
- Reefton → Westport, InterCity coach
- about NZ$25–40, about 1 h (check)
- Petrol, Greymouth → Reefton → Westport
- about NZ$30–45 for a small car
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
Walk. Broadway is the spine and everything in town is within about 15 minutes on foot. A car is needed for Blacks Point Museum (2 km (1.2 mi) east on SH 7) and for the valleys. No local bus service; InterCity coaches stop in town on the Greymouth–Westport run (check the timetable).Walk. Broadway is the spine and everything in town is within about 15 minutes on foot. A car is needed for Blacks Point Museum (1.2 mi (2 km) east on SH 7) and for the valleys. No local bus service; InterCity coaches stop in town on the Greymouth–Westport run (check the timetable).
See and do
Known for
- First public electricity supply in the Southern Hemisphere (1888)
- Gold and coal mining heritage
- Bottled Lightning Powerhouse Walk
- Black's Point Museum
- Reefton Distilling Co.
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Westport | Drive SH 7 north-east through the Buller Gorge, 77 km (48 mi)Drive SH 7 north-east through the Buller Gorge, 48 mi (77 km) | About 1 h |
| Greymouth | Drive SH 7 south-west, 77 km (48 mi)Drive SH 7 south-west, 48 mi (77 km) | About 1 h |
| Charleston | Drive SH 6 north from Westport, about 110 km (68 mi) totalDrive SH 6 north from Westport, about 68 mi (110 km) total | About 1 h 45 min |
| Punakaiki | Drive SH 7 to Greymouth, then SH 6 north, about 130 km (81 mi)Drive SH 7 to Greymouth, then SH 6 north, about 81 mi (130 km) | About 2 h |
| Hokitika | Drive SH 7 to Greymouth, then SH 6 south, about 115 km (71 mi)Drive SH 7 to Greymouth, then SH 6 south, about 71 mi (115 km) | About 1 h 45 min |
| Fox Glacier | Drive SH 7 south to Greymouth, then SH 6 south, about 250 km (155 mi)Drive SH 7 south to Greymouth, then SH 6 south, about 155 mi (250 km) | About 3 h 30 min |
Sleep
- Broadway (main street)
- Motels, guesthouses and pubs within a 5-min walk of the i-SITE and every eatery. Best if you have no car to park.
- Shiel St and side streets
- Guesthouses and B&Bs a 5–10 min walk from Broadway; quieter at night.
- Blacks Point
- 2 km (1.2 mi) east on SH 7, next to the museum; only worth it if you want a self-contained stay.1.2 mi (2 km) east on SH 7, next to the museum; only worth it if you want a self-contained stay.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Kia ora — hello / thank you | Kia oraKEE-ah OR-ah |
| Thank you | Ngā mihingah MEE-hee |
| Please | KoaKOH-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
- No fuel after dark and limited hours on Sunday: fill up in Greymouth or Westport before you arrive.
- Black's Point Museum opens from Labour Weekend to Easter only; outside that window it is closed.
- SH 7 through the Buller Gorge can close after slips and floods: check the NZTA journey planner before driving.
- Sandflies along the Inangahua River are worst at dusk in summer.
- Cell coverage is patchy on the passes either side of town; download offline maps.
Reefton is a small, quiet town and street crime is rare. The real risks are the drive in (weather, slips, one-lane bridges), winter ice on the passes, and river or bush trips without telling anyone where you are going.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Reefton yet. Suggested stay: 1 night. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- First public electricity supply in the Southern Hemisphere (1888)
- Gold and coal mining heritage
- Bottled Lightning Powerhouse Walk
- Black's Point Museum
- Reefton Distilling Co.
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Reefton official town site: www.reefton.co.nz/
- Reefton Distilling Co.: www.reeftondistillingco.com/
- Wikivoyage: Reefton, revision 4310851 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=4310851
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Reefton
Ki tēnei wāhi, koa
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Reefton. The US, UK, Canada, Australia and Ireland have embassies or high commissions in Wellington; Australia, the UK and the US also have consulates in Auckland.
Tipping is not expected in New Zealand; 10% for very good service in a restaurant is a bonus.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/reefton). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.