The Tasman Sea creates a temperate climate for the West Coast making the Winter months a great time to visit. Outside of the busy tourist season of October to March you are more likely to have the well known "hot spots" to yourself. There are numerous walking, hiking and biking options unaffected by normal winter conditions experienced elsewhere in the country.
While there may be fresh snow falls on the mountains and frost inland, with 500kms of coastline the temperatures rarely fall into single digits.
The ski fields of Arthur's Pass are only a 1.5 hour drive away and you're never more than a mile or two from the beach in the Greymouth area, many of them offering fantastic views of the Southern Alps includng Mt Cook and Mt Tasman. Taking a walk along a deserted beach with snow capped mountains in the foreground offers a surreal moment in time.
Winter on the West Coast is a photographers dream with near perfect lighting and affording some of best sunsets for the year. Just enough cloud formation to bring on the lighting show.
Our generally clear skies at winter also mean perfect conditions for star gazing, Our semi-rural location means we have no light pollution filtering out the night sky and thus affording great opportunities for star gazing, checking out the milky way and of course the Southern Cross. For many of our guests this is a highlight of their stay - the sunset often only surpassed by the star lit night sky.
The months of July through September are normally breeding season for the penguin so you often have a better chance of seeing a penguin coming in from sea in the early evening or heading back out to sea early morning. Remember to sit quietly so as not to disturb them and they will carry on with their usualy routine.
