Collingwood

Archway Islands at Wharariki Beach

Collingwood is the only town of size beyond Takaka, in Golden Bay, in the northwest corner of New Zealand's South Island. At the height of the Victorian gold rush, Collingwood was proposed as the capital of New Zealand.

Charming Collingwood offers a caravan park, several motels, restaurants, a small grocery, a chocolate shop, village hall, library, a hostel, post office and is the departure point for tours along Farewell Spit.

Get in

From Takaka, drive on State Highway 60 through Onekaka and on to Collingwood.

If flying to Takaka Aerodrome (21 km away), you can hire a car or get a taxi from the aerodrome.

Tracknet for non-scheduled bus for bushwalking.

See

• 1 Collingwood Museum, 2 Tasman St. Daily 9am-6pm. Small museum in the former council offices (built in 1910). donation. (updated Oct 2016)
• Farewell Spit Eco Tours, 6 Tasman St. To travel right along the 26-km spit you need to go with this company, as public access extends along only the first 4 km of the spit. (updated Dec 2019)
• 2 Wharariki Beach (29 km north of Collingwood via Puponga). A spectacular beach close to Cape Farewell. Its Archway Islands feature in a Windows 10 wallpaper photo looking out from a sea cave. (updated Mar 2017)

Do

• Heaphy Track (28 km south) for a typical 4 to 5 day tramp or in winter mountain bike ride.

Buy

• 1 Rosy Glow Chocolate, 54 Beach Rd. Sa-Th 10am-5pm. Handmade chocolates from $4.50. (updated Oct 2016)

Eat

• The Courthouse Cafe
• MAD Cafe
• Collingwood Tavern

Drink

• Collingwood Tavern

Sleep

• 1 Somerset House, 10 Gibbs Rd, ☏ +64 3 524-8624, info@backpackerscollingwood.co.nz. 
• Pioneer Motel
• Collingwood Motor Camp

Go next

• Pakawau, with one of the best beaches in New Zealand, a little further northwest, does have a small grocery, a restaurant, a caravan park and nice seaside community of homes.
• Puponga beyond even Pakawau, is a pale shadow of its former coal-mining self and is the last settlement of any kind before reaching the world-famous beauty of Farewell Spit. It has a small backpackers and a café at the base of the spit.
• Kahurangi National Park and the 4–6 day Heaphy Track walk to the West Coast