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 Miners Tunnel
Why stop
- A striking surviving detail of the miners’ coastal route.
Heads up
- The 3.6 km return walk ends above the beach, not on 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 Miners Tunnel, 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 and the Failed Gold Dredge0:00 / 0:32
“Gillespies Beach is ahead, with dark sand, rounded pebbles and, when the clouds allow, the Southern Alps rising inland. Come for a shore walk and the old gold workings; strong surf makes it a poor choice for a swim.”
Plays as you drive up to Gillespies Miners Tunnel in the Parkwolf Westland Tai Poutini Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Lake That Powered the Dredge
- Gillespies Beach Miners Cemetery
- 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 Miners Tunnel
What this walk reachesThe Miners Tunnel Track is a 3.
The Miners Tunnel Track is a 3.6 km return walk, about 1 hour 40 minutes, from Gillespies Beach’s main car park and campground to a historic tunnel and lookout above the coast. It’s a worthwhile longer detour if you want a walk with a clear link to the area’s mining past; this is reached on foot, not a quick roadside stop.
The old all-tide routeThe tunnel gave miners a way around Gillespies Point at any tide, avoiding a coastal section…
The tunnel gave miners a way around Gillespies Point at any tide, avoiding a coastal section where travel depended on the sea. It sits on the old pack track into South Westland. A 1954 photograph shows the tunnel decades after a road had replaced the beach as the region’s highway.
Through the tunnelFrom the main car park, the track passes old mining tailings and a bucket dredge, follows the…
From the main car park, the track passes old mining tailings and a bucket dredge, follows the beach, crosses the Quinlan Creek lagoon and a bridge, then climbs an old glacier moraine through the tunnel. It emerges at a viewing point above the beach; there is no beach access from this lookout.
Make the approach workGillespies Beach is a 21 km drive from Fox Glacier, with about half the route on a narrow,…
Gillespies Beach is a 21 km drive from Fox Glacier, with about half the route on a narrow, unsealed road that is unsuitable for towing. Carry drinking water; DOC also advises insect repellent and sun protection. Dogs are not allowed on these tracks.
Frame the openingFrom inside the passage, the dark rock walls and timber brace frame a bright green opening.
From inside the passage, the dark rock walls and timber brace frame a bright green opening. Look back through the tunnel for a sense of its shape; the viewpoint beyond gives a wider coastal view on a fine day.
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.
