Parking
Use the main Gillespies Beach car park and camping area. It is about 21 km from Fox Glacier; roughly half the drive is on narrow, unsealed Gillespies Beach Road, which is unsuitable for towing. Keep left and drive slowly.
Overview
About Gillespies Bucket Dredge Walk
Why go
- A rusting gold dredge and tailings history in a half-hour walk.
Heads up
- The named route is a short same-track return rather than a longer coastal walk.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Westland Tai Poutini map
Full mapElevation3–9 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
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
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Westland Tai Poutini Tour Guide
Your drive to Gillespies Bucket Dredge Walk, 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 trailhead
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 this trailhead in the Parkwolf Westland Tai Poutini Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Gillespies Beach Miners Cemetery
- 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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Gillespies Bucket Dredge Walk
A short heritage walkGillespies Bucket Dredge Walk is a 1.
Gillespies Bucket Dredge Walk is a 1.6 km out-and-back from the main car park and camping area, following Miners Tunnel Track through gorse-covered dredge tailings to the remains of a 1930s gold dredge. Allow about 30 minutes return. It suits a brief look at the old workings; turn at the dredge to keep to this route.
At the dredgeThe walk crosses old mining tailings now covered by gorse.
The walk crosses old mining tailings now covered by gorse. The finish is rusted bucket-dredge machinery beside a pond, with flax and tree ferns around it. On clear days, mountain tops show above the gorse. The rusted machinery framed by water and flax makes the distinctive photo stop.
Access and onward walksThe start is Gillespies Beach's main car park and camping area, about 21 km from Fox Glacier.
The start is Gillespies Beach's main car park and camping area, about 21 km from Fox Glacier. Roughly half of the drive is narrow and unsealed, and unsuitable for towing; keep left and go slowly. Dogs are not allowed. For this walk, return the way you came. Continuing toward Miners Tunnel or Galway Beach, or returning along the beach, is a separate route choice and is not included in the 1.6 km figure.
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.
