Punakaiki

Most of the drive from Fox Glacier to Punakaiki was rainy, with low-hanging clouds blocking many of the views. Luckily the sky had cleared by the time we reached the point where the road hugged the coastline, so we caught some beautiful views of the rugged west coast. We stayed at a place called the Treehouse, where we had our own mini-apartment nestled back in the woods. The next morning we headed over to the famous Pancake Rocks, which are very unique formations in limestone cliffs, which have a layered appearance reminiscent of a pile of thin pancakes. The views of the ocean waves crashing against the rocks were quite impressive. And we saw a couple of small splashes of water through the blowholes.

From there, we did a quick hike along the Parorari River, which runs between large limestone cliffs. And later in the afternoon, we followed the Truman Track to a scenic beach with pebble-like sand. The views were beautiful, and you could see large undercut areas where the pounding waves have worn away at cliff walls. Unfortunately the sandflies were in full force, so sitting and watching the waves was not a good option!