Why Photographers Fall in Love with New Zealand’s West Coast

There is something about the West Coast of New Zealand that lingers with you long after you’ve left. Maybe it’s the dense, moss-covered forests that seem plucked from a fairytale. Maybe it’s the endless grey skies that turn ordinary landscapes into cinematic dreamscapes. Or maybe it’s the wild coastline, where every crashing wave and driftwood-strewn beach feels like a scene from another world. For photographers, this region is a playground for texture, light, and emotion – moody in the best possible way. In this post, I’m diving into what makes the West Coast so irresistible to creatives behind the lens, and sharing my favourite locations, tips. and stories from the road.

Diamond Lake & Rocky Mountain, Wanaka

Our trip there started with one of those unexpected detours – a spontaneous stop at Diamond Lake near Wānaka. We hiked for 2 hours, we were greeted with beautiful weather and vibrant colours. I’m so glad we did this, the light was soft, the air was crisp, and everything felt calm in that quiet kind of way that makes you want to pause and take it all in. Perfect time for me to take a quick snap of this view!

This was taken at the lower section of the walk, where the stillness of the lake and the golden leaves made it feel like autumn was holding its breath.

Why I love this shot? The composition is beautifully framed with the golden leaves arching over the grassy surface of the lake, reflecting the surrounding trees and distant mountains like a mirror. The foreground adds a sense of intimacy, like you’re quietly tucked into the edge of the landscape, observing it in a rare moment. Overall, the photo is perfectly exposed and the contrast makes the image look sharp and warm.

Wonderland Makarora Lodge

Okay, so the whole reason why we decided to go on a road trip to West Coast was mainly to experience an overnight stay here at Wonderland Makarora Lodge! I have a big interest in A-frame cabins and we don’t see much of these in Aotearoa – so this was incredibly exciting!

Makarora is about 2 hours from Queenstown and just 1 hour from Wānaka. If you are travelling from Franz Josef it will be about 3 hours drive all up. This location is in the middle of nowhere where travel goers normally pass-by and there is a cafe/restaurant here to stop for a feed.... and might as well crash here too!

Aside from their cozy A-frame cabins, Wonderland Makarora Lodge also has guest swimming pool, communal kitchen, WiFi, lounge area with fireplace, outdoor bathtub, laundry facilities and lots of parking. It’s simple amenities which is enough for visitors to stay comfortably if the intention is to keep away from modern busy life for a weekend. The cabin we stayed in was the a special one as it had outdoor bath tubs which was so relaxing! I highly recommend this place if you plan to venture out to West Coast.

In these shots, I tried to experiment with slow shutter speed to make it look like the viewers are taken along the motion with me (i’m referring to one where I’m spinning like 100km/hr while my partner is holding me haha). This was during the morning around 9am and the sun was starting to get brighter, my settings here were ISO 100, 1/320 secs, F 2.8 with a focal length 38mm (I used my Tamron 24-70mm here).

Wilson Creek Chasm

I’m sure we’ve all seen this magical chasm in all of our social media. I remember when this was not known to many people about 8 years ago, my sister and I first came across someone’s blog where she talked about hidden gems in NZ and it had the coordinates to get here.

I chose to come back here for the 3rd time for my partner as he is a typical Kiwi lad who has not explored his backyard until he met me (LOL!). It was an exciting moment getting down to the surface and it had rained a few days prior so it was a little deep (I’m only 4'11 so, go figure). I walked with my jandals and my camera gear in my backpack.

How cold was the water? It was constant chill, my advice is to bring a towel and warm socks with you to bring your temperature up afterwards.

This was slightly challenging to capture as it was a dark environment and my goal was to capture the running water smoothly but that means my subjects are blurry. I haven’t mastered the perfect settings for this yet – but it was a rather good effort here!

I’m sure we’ve all seen this magical chasm in all of our social media. I remember when this was not known to many people about 8 years ago, my sister and I first came across someone’s blog where she talked about hidden gems in NZ and it had the coordinates to get here.

I chose to come back here for the 3rd time for my partner as he is a typical Kiwi lad who has not explored his backyard until he met me (LOL!). It was an exciting moment getting down to the surface and it had rained a few days prior so it was a little deep (I’m only 4'11 so, go figure). I walked with my jandals and my camera gear in my backpack.

How cold was the water? It was constant chill, my advice is to bring a towel and warm socks with you to bring your temperature up afterwards.

This was slightly challenging to capture as it was a dark environment and my goal was to capture the running water smoothly but that means my subjects are blurry. I haven’t mastered the perfect settings for this yet – but it was a rather good effort here

Watched the sunset in Haast

As the sun started to set, we made a further hour drive to Haast to get an ice cream and soak up the remaining summer days in New Zealand. We stopped at the local dairy and got our favourite Tip Top flavours. I have never been to this beach before, it was called Haast Beach – plenty of spaces to park up and lots of driftwood on the shore too. I remember feeling so grateful being there – grateful for the opportunity to live in this beautiful part of the world, the beautiful weather, and to all the great experiences I’ve encountered so far.

These two photos above were taken during the brightest hour (around 2-3pm), I forgot to bring my ND filter here so, my other option was to crank up the shutter speed, lower my ISO and elevated my aperture. I still got a great outcome here, but it was not what I had envisioned. This leads me to say that you don’t necessarily have to have an idea/vision to produce a great photo... sometimes, you just gotta go with your gut-feeling when it feels good to pick up your camera and snap the perspective you see. It might surprise yourself to see a beautiful creation.

With gratitude,

Hazel