Hokitika Gorge

The colour is the whole point and it has a physical explanation: the Hokitika River drains glaciers that grind rock into extremely fine particles - rock flour - which stay suspended in the water and scatter light back at the blue-green end of the spectrum. Put that against pale granite walls and dark bush and you get the turquoise that appears on every West Coast poster. A loop walk of about a kilometre, upgraded in recent years with new boardwalk and a second swing bridge, crosses the gorge twice and takes twenty-five to forty minutes. The important caveat is weather: the colour depends on the rock flour staying suspended and the light getting to it, so after heavy rain the river runs grey-brown and murky, and on an overcast day it is muted. Locals will tell you to come on a fine day two or three days after rain. Swimming is possible but the water is very cold and the current strong.

What you actually see

• The turquoise water - glacial rock flour scattering the light.
• The two swing bridges - the loop crossing the gorge twice.
• The granite walls - pale rock against dark bush.
• The boardwalk loop - about a kilometre, twenty-five to forty minutes.

When to go

A fine day, ideally a couple of days after rain - immediately after heavy rain the river runs brown and the colour is gone. Midday light is strongest for the turquoise.

Honest expectations

The colour is genuinely weather-dependent and many visitors arrive on the wrong day. The loop is short. The water is cold and fast; swimming is at your own risk. Sandflies at the river.

Nearby

Hokitika and its beach are west; Lake Kaniere is on the same inland loop.