Cape Foulwind Walk

7 kms • 3 Hours • Very Easy

1 April 2021
Walked by: Sandra from Freewalks

Home » South Island » West Coast » Westport » Cape Foulwind Walk

Cape Foulwind is a very easy 7 km walk which will take you around 3 hours.

The track is along the coast which can get quite close to the cliffs, with great views out to sea. When captain Cook arrived in 1770 it was so rough he named it Cape Foulwind.

Quick Facts about this walk

Location: South Island NZ
Distance: 7 kms
Time needed: 3 Hours
Difficulty: Very Easy
Wheelchair Access: Yes
Route: Double back
Elevation: 38m
Wet Feet: No
Toilets: Yes
Dogs: No
Mobile Coverage: Yes
Last Updated: November, 2019

Summary points about this walk

Walk Highlights

Unknown

Track Quality

You could not find an easier walk along the coast. The track is covered in sea shells and drains well after heavy rain.

Hazards

The track does get very close to the cliff.

Transport

Unknown

Water

Driving Instructions

Unknown

Shops & Restaurants Nearby

13 Km in to Westport

Area & Trail History

Able Tasman arrived here in 1642 and named it Rocky Point. When Captain Cook arrived in 1770 it was so rough he named it Cape Foulwind. The cape was cleared of all its timber to make way of farming around 1864 by the early settlers. Then in 1876 a wooden lighthouse was built on Cape Foulwind to guide the ships up and down the West Coast during the gold rush and timber area. The famous ship to sink on Cape Foulwind was the Rifleman in 1846. In 1883 quarrying started on Cape Foulwind, the 25 ton rocks were railed to Westport to build a breakwater on the Buller river. The last rocks rolled out of the quarry in 1960.

Map Location

Points of interest along the walk

Point 1: Cape Foulwind Car Park

Cape Foulwind Car Park is an easy 12km drive from Westport. There is plenty of parking on a sealed carpark and there is an information board there so you can read up on the history Cape Foulwind.

Point 2: Seal Colony

You will walk past the site of the 1876 Cape Foulwind lighthouse just minutes into the walk. The present lighthouse was built 50 years later. It was so hot the day we were there it was hard to imagine that you can freeze up here in the winter. The walk to the seals was very easy with good views of the coast line. You could see where the train line ran below the cliff but I could not see the rail tunnel running south to Tauranga Bay. The track surface was excellent, if it did rain you would still be walking high and dry. As for the wild life, you can smell the seals before you see them and you will have to watch out where you walk. The Weka were running in and out of the flax bushes as if we were not there.

Point 3: Tauranga Bay

From the Cape Foulwind seal colony it is a short 3 minutes walk to the public toilets and an ice-cream truck. Tauranga Bay is the busiest end of the walk because the tourist buses stop here so mum and dad can walk out to the seals colony with ease. Wheelchair access out to the Foulwind seal Colony is only from Tauranga Bay. It was a hot day when we arrived at Tauranga Bay, we were in no rush to get back on the road so we took off for a beautiful walk along the Tauranga Bay.