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 Gillespies Beach Miners Cemetery
Why stop
- A short walk connects the beach's mining history with the people who lived it.
Map
Where it is
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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 Gillespies Beach Miners Cemetery, 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
Gillespies Beach Miners Cemetery0:00 / 0:16
“The short path to Gillespies Beach Miners Cemetery is coming up, near the campsite turnoff. It's about five minutes return on a flat grass path, plus whatever time you'd like among the graves.”
Plays as you drive up to Gillespies Beach Miners Cemetery in the Parkwolf Westland Tai Poutini Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Gillespies Beach and the Failed Gold Dredge
- The Lake That Powered the Dredge
- The Partnership in a Lichen
- Kahikatea and the Butter Box
- 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 Gillespies Beach Miners Cemetery
A five-minute history stopGillespies Beach Miners Cemetery is a small historic burial ground reached by a short spur just…
Gillespies Beach Miners Cemetery is a small historic burial ground reached by a short spur just before the beach campsite and car-park turnoff. The 270 m return walk takes about five minutes, so it is easy to add if you want a closer sense of the people who lived and worked on this coast. The visit is mainly a pause among the graves, not a long walk or a developed attraction.
The mining storyThe cemetery recalls the harsh conditions early gold prospectors faced at Gillespies Beach.
The cemetery recalls the harsh conditions early gold prospectors faced at Gillespies Beach. For more of that history, the nearby 400 m suction-dredge loop passes late-19th-century dredge remains and interpretation panels about the former mining town. Pair the two if you want more than the cemetery's brief visit.
Getting to the beachFrom Fox Glacier township, Gillespies Beach is about 21 km by road, with roughly half of the…
From Fox Glacier township, Gillespies Beach is about 21 km by road, with roughly half of the approach on narrow, unsealed road. The road is unsuitable for towing vehicles. Weather can change quickly, so check conditions before leaving and bring drinking water, warm waterproof clothing, insect repellent and sun protection. Dogs aren't permitted on tracks at Gillespies Beach.
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.
