If you are looking for a piece of New Zealand paradise, you’ll find it at Lake Brunner.

Maybe you want to just relax, soaking up the breathtaking majesty of the surrounding Southern Alps, and breathing in the pure atmosphere of native forests or maybe you’d prefer something more wet and wild, Lake Brunner has it all.

Tucked away on the northern shores of Lake Brunner, the township of Moana is the ideal base for your West Coast holiday. The town is 37 kilometres from Greymouth and only a 2 hours and 15 minutes drive from Christchurch over the new viaduct, 1 hour from Hokitika airport, 3.5 hours from Franz Josef Glacier and 30 minutes from Greymouth. Moana is served by both the TranzAlpine scenic train and a daily shuttle bus service to and from Christchurch.

Travellers on the TranzAlpine can stop off for three hours while the train travels onto Greymouth or stay overnight and enjoy all that Moana has to offer.

There are a number of walks and tracks, riverbeds to scout for those elusive gems, canoe hire, local fishing guides and boat, Catamaran Charters, Houseboat cruisers, swimming beaches. There are also numerous reserves, State Forests and National parks all within an hours drive of Moana. Some of the not to be missed sights are the Pancake Rocks at Punakai in the Paparoa National Park, a trip to Shanty Town, a gold mining museum and further south the Franz Joseph glacier. Skiing is available with a wakeboard instruction who also does boat cruisers around the lake.

Named after the early explorer Thomas Brunner in 1848, Lake Brunner offers all sorts of water sports from canoeing and kayaking to yachting and powerboating. But if you don’t feel like moving far or doing anything too energetic take advantage of some of the country’s best fishing. Lake Brunner and its surrounding rivers and streams are fishable all year round have some of the best brown trout fishing in the South Island. The main season ends 30 April and reopens 1 October each year.

Declared a world Heritage area by UNESCO, the West Coast is truly unique and features some of New Zealand’s most unspoilt natural wilderness.