Nostalgia wafts from every brightly painted beam of the Empire. Since 1866, West Coasters have huddled inside the pub, amid yellowing photographs and dusty antiques, to spin yarns and swap gossip about whitebaiting locations. Breathe in the authenticity, along with a whiff of woodsmoke, over a pint and a bowl of chowder.
Historic Empire Hotel
The West Coast
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
17.44 MILES
Lying at the heart of a 7000-hectare scenic reserve, 18km southeast of Hokitika, beautiful Lake Kaniere is 8km long, 2km wide, up to 195m deep, and…
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10.86 MILES
Water this turqouise doesn't come easily. Half a million years of glacial movement sculpted Hokitika's ravine; the rock 'flour' ground over millennia…
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8.42 MILES
Serene Lake Māhinapua lies 10km southwest of Hokitika, screened from SH6 by its surrounding forest. The scenic reserve, gazetted in 1907, has a picnic…
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15.46 MILES
At nightfall, bring a torch (or grope your way) into this grotto on the northern edge of town, signposted off SH6. The dell is an easy opportunity to…
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14.17 MILES
A visit to Sunset Point is a quintessential Hokitika experience: watch the day's light fade away, observe whitebaiters casting nets, munch fish and chips,…
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14.66 MILES
Tiptoe through the darkened kiwi house to watch the birds rummage for tasty insects, or stare a tuatara – a reptile unchanged for 150 million years – in…
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0.1 MILES
The community-run Goldfields Heritage Centre harks back to Ross's shiny years, with displays and dioramas on gold mining, a scale model of the town, and…
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14.5 MILES
Housed in the gorgeous, recently strengthened Carnegie Building (1908), this museum has displays on greenstone, gold mining, history and whitebait fishing.
Nearby The West Coast attractions
0.1 MILES
The community-run Goldfields Heritage Centre harks back to Ross's shiny years, with displays and dioramas on gold mining, a scale model of the town, and…
8.42 MILES
Serene Lake Māhinapua lies 10km southwest of Hokitika, screened from SH6 by its surrounding forest. The scenic reserve, gazetted in 1907, has a picnic…
10.86 MILES
Water this turqouise doesn't come easily. Half a million years of glacial movement sculpted Hokitika's ravine; the rock 'flour' ground over millennia…
14.17 MILES
A visit to Sunset Point is a quintessential Hokitika experience: watch the day's light fade away, observe whitebaiters casting nets, munch fish and chips,…
14.5 MILES
Housed in the gorgeous, recently strengthened Carnegie Building (1908), this museum has displays on greenstone, gold mining, history and whitebait fishing.
14.59 MILES
Iconic only to West Coast locals, Hokitika's attractive clock tower was unveiled in 1903 to commemorate King Edward VII's coronation and to memorialise…
14.66 MILES
Tiptoe through the darkened kiwi house to watch the birds rummage for tasty insects, or stare a tuatara – a reptile unchanged for 150 million years – in…
14.74 MILES
This handsome Catholic church, completed in 1928, could only be admired from the outside when we passed through, due to earthquake-strengthening…