Jackson Bay - The heart of World Heritage Area
West Coast
Photographer: Ben Crawford
(www.bencrawford.co.nz)
Jackson Bay is located 50 kilometres south of the main highway from Haast, in the West Coast region of New Zealand.
Jackson Bay is a fishing village set deep in southern West Coast. The village offers spectacular views of the ocean and the Southern Alps.
The bay is a natural ocean harbour sheltered from the prevailing winds, and thus attracted settlers in the 1870s.
The iron-framed grave on the foreshore testifies to the misery encountered by these early European settlers. Interestingly, Jackson Bay was one of the most prosperous Māori settlements on the coast.
Follow the Jackson Bay Okahu walks for some great views of the Smoothwater River and the Smoothwater Bay.
Fresh fish and chips can be brought from a mobile kitchen adjacent to the wharf, where you can sit and contemplate the early settlers' first encounters with this landscape.
