The West Coast is one of the more isolated areas of New Zealand. Many Americans think it looks like the Oregan coast. There are few people here and those who are are mainly involved in tourism , gold mining or  coal mining for it is the most important area for the extraction of bothl. The coast is rugged and windswept, the prevailing wind being a westerly, and thus has a higher rainfall than the other coast. We travel for two days down this coast road and stop often to see a variety of sites. We stop at an old gold mining settlement of Charleston and walk along the beach front for an impressive view of the sea coast and the old harbour the early goldminers used.