Kakapotahi, West Coast Map

About Kakapotahi, West Coast

Kakapotahi is a locality in the West Coast Region of New Zealand. It sits at an elevation of around 30 m above sea level. It lies approximately 70 km south-west of Greymouth, the regional capital. Kakapotahi is located at 42.9833°S, 170.7000°E. It observes New Zealand Time (NZST/NZDT).

Kakapotahi lies cradled by the verdant folds of the West Coast, where the air hangs thick with the scent of damp earth and the distant tang of the sea. It lies 131.4 km north-west of Ashburton (from Ashburton: bearing 320°T), and is situated 36.8 km south-west of Hokitika. The land here is a study in deep greens and muted browns, a tapestry woven from native bush, dense with the silent sentinels of the Kakapotahi Forest, and the rolling contours that lead the eye towards the distant, jagged peaks of the Rangitoto Range. The Kakapotahi River, a muscular artery of the region, carves its path through the landscape, its waters reflecting the often-brooding sky, while the Ounatai Lagoon, a tranquil mirror, lies a short distance inland, its surface disturbed only by the shy movements of water birds. The very ground feels alive, a testament to the constant, patient work of water and time, shaping the terrain into a place of wild, untamed beauty.

This is a place where the echoes of a pioneering past still resonate, a history carved into the very fabric of Kakapotahi. The local economy, long tied to the bounty of the land, now finds its rhythm in a blend of sustainable forestry and the quiet hum of dairy herds grazing the fertile plains. Though the open coastline and the vast expanse of Benford Bay are some kilometres distant, the spirit of the sea still whispers on the breeze, a reminder of the region’s maritime heritage and the hardy souls who once navigated these shores. While the grander spectacle of Kea Glacier lies further afield, the immediate landscape offers its own subtle wonders, from the delicate lace of Isobel Falls tumbling down a moss-covered rock face to the rugged prominence of Bold Head, a silent guardian overlooking the land.

About This Kakapotahi Map Page

This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of Kakapotahi, West Coast, New Zealand at coordinates -42.98333, 170.7. Use the Map and Satellite buttons to switch views, the plus and minus buttons to zoom, and Fullscreen to fill the screen.

Search Maps opens a second, independent map with four things the embedded map cannot do. It searches OpenStreetMap for any New Zealand town, suburb or landmark by name. It offers LINZ topographic maps as a base layer — the official Topo250 and Topo50 sheets, switching scale automatically as you zoom, and the standard reference for tramping, hunting and back-country travel. It offers LINZ aerial imagery down to 5cm resolution in urban areas. And it can take a single GPS fix from your device and report your position as both an NZTM2000 grid reference and plain latitude and longitude — the grid reference being what New Zealand search and rescue services work from. Map tiles require mobile coverage, but a GPS position does not, so the coordinates remain correct even where the map itself cannot load.

My Location & Navigate starts the vector-tile navigator: live turn-by-turn driving directions from your current position to any destination, with spoken guidance, lane hints and automatic re-routing.

Live weather conditions with current observations and a 7-day forecast are powered by Open-Meteo. Real-time New Zealand and world news feeds keep the page current, while an editorial description provides background on Kakapotahi.

Kakapotahi sits within the West Coast Region. Location data is drawn from the GeoNames geographical database and verified by coordinates, ensuring the correct Kakapotahi is identified even where the name is shared across multiple New Zealand localities.