1 active Westland Tai Poutini alert
- CautionActive landslide zones on Copland TrackDo not stop in either of Copland Track’s signposted active landslide zones; take extra care during and after heavy rain.Official details
Overview
About Donovan’s Store
Why stop
- A rare survivor from Ōkārito’s gold-rush boom.
Heads up
- No regular public visiting hours are listed.
Donovan’s Store is a small historic building in the coastal settlement of Ōkārito, built as the Club Hotel during the first months of the 1865 gold rush. It is the oldest known building on the West Coast and a worthwhile stop for its history; the store itself is no longer a grocery shop.
Parkwolf’s verdictA gold-rush building worth a short stopMap
Where it is
Loading the Westland Tai Poutini map
Full mapPlan your stop
Before you go
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Westland Tai Poutini Tour Guide
Your drive to Donovan’s Store, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Westland Tai Poutini National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Westland Tai Poutini audio tourRecorded for this place
Ōkārito Wharf: a Gold-Rush Port0:00 / 0:32
“You're nearing Ōkārito Wharf, a short stop for lagoon views and a glimpse of the village's gold-rush past. Walk over to the old boatshed and its information panels.”
Plays as you drive up to Donovan’s Store in the Parkwolf Westland Tai Poutini Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Ōkārito Walks: the Trig or the Wetland
- Rowi Keep the Family Together
- Pakihi Walk: Wetland, Forest and Mountains
- Why Pakihi Stays Open
- 49 audio storiesacross Westland Tai Poutini’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Kea, Blue Duck, Kererū, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 31 trails, 53 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
More about Donovan’s Store
What to look forThe pale front gable, turquoise door and “Jas.
The pale front gable, turquoise door and “Jas. Donovan Storekeeper” lettering make the building easy to recognize. Its red corrugated side and picket fence show the modest scale of the place. For a clear exterior photo, frame the front gable and lettering together.
From hotel to storeGold found in the black-sand beaches brought a quick boom to Ōkārito, but the settlement…
Gold found in the black-sand beaches brought a quick boom to Ōkārito, but the settlement declined as miners worked the sands out by the end of 1867. In the 1890s James and Eva Donovan converted the hotel into a general store and ran it for about 60 years. The Robertson family took ownership in the 1950s; the property was bequeathed to the Crown in 1987.
Still part of village lifeRestoration began in 1994 with the local community association and is not complete.
Restoration began in 1994 with the local community association and is not complete. The building is used for community events, as a library, and for performances and exhibitions. Regular public visiting hours are not listed, so confirm access before planning to go inside. Ōkārito has no shops or service stations; bring groceries and fuel with you.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Westland Tai Poutini
89 sightingsKeaMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
10 sightingsBlue DuckMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
80 sightingsKererūMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
38 sightingsTūīMost seen around 5 AMSighting map
10 sightingsNew Zealand FalconMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
28 sightingsYellow-crowned ParakeetMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Westland Tai Poutini. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
