Hokitika's main draws are its pounamu carving workshops, dramatic driftwood beach, and the Hokitika Gorge inland — a short drive rewarded with some of the most photogenic water colour in New Zealand. The annual Wildfoods Festival in March draws a large crowd for an event that's part food challenge, part West Coast party.
It's a good overnight stop between Greymouth and the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers, with more character than the purely functional glacier-gateway towns further south.