Blogs from Punakaiki, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania

A newcomer to heygo and what a great start. The Pancake Rocks at Dolomite Point near Punakaiki are a heavily eroded limestone area where the sea bursts through several vertical blowholes. The foundations of the Pancake Rocks were formed 30 million years ago when minute fragments of dead marine creatures and plants landed on the seabed about 2 km below the surface. Immense water pressure caused them to solidify into layers of more resistant limestone and softer, thin, mud-rich layers. Gradually seismic action lifted the limestone above the seabed where water, wind and salt spray eroded the softer layers leaving a "pancake" like stack of harder limestone. Besides the layered pancake rocks, the other specialty of the place is the blowholes. Blowholes form from a mixture of compressed water and air escaping through the caverns below ... read more

Three reasons you know when you are in rural new zealand..... Number one... picture this. Sitting, drinking tea in a quiet little cafe when in walk two ladies, in full bee keeping attire and no one bats an eyelid as they order their coffee to go. Number two.... in a shop looking around, door opens and broad kiwi accent shouts to the woman behind the counter "I'm off for one last look to find that bull that's in the bush. I thought he would come down for the heifers I let out. If I don't find him today then whoever does find him can have the silly rascal" Number three.... lady in quilting shop (yes we found another one!) Helping us looking at some kiwi designs. Suddenly her colleague appears looking ashen faced.... "I need to ... read more

I was glad to have seen Christchurch but it felt easy to leave as it is not really in a state where there is much to do. we were heading North on our first Kiwi road trip. We selected the road we had been told was most scenic - Arthur's Pass. This proved to be a great choice as the route led past an ever growing river, through scenic gorges and around beautiful rock formations. We stopped a couple of times for photo opportunities. At one of our stops, at the Okira Gorge, we came across a trio of keas. The kea is the world's only alpine parrot and lives in a small area of the South Island. This is an endangered species, with only five thousand left. We were so lucky to see these majestic ... read more

Vítejte na divokém západě. Divokém a drsném počasím, lidmi: potomky těžařů zlata a drahých kovů, kteří v tomto podnebí museli přežít; krásném a řídce osídleném. Západní pobřeží jižního ostrova (od serveru po hranice státu Otago) má pouhopouhých 32 tisíc obyvatel! Tři největší města jsme projely tento den: Westport (3900 obyvatel), Greymouth (9870 obyvatel) a Hokitika (2967 obyvatel). To jsou částky, až to ohýbá stromy, což?! Jak probíhal náš den? Vstávačka v 6 z kempu jižně od Reeftonu, cesta zpět na sever a pak po 'hlavnější' (kombinací s touto předložkou mi docvaklo, proč je výskyt druhého slova ohrožen) silnici směr Westport. Zde v 8 hodin snídaně, 'Sandwich a hrnek horké vody, prosím' (máme zásobu čajů a rozpustných káv) a jede se jižněji do Cape Foulwind. Tento výběžek je známý pro svou kolonií tuleňů, kteří se teprve probouzeli. ... read more

As we didn't make it to pancake rocks yesterday, we were up and about to get there this morning before heading onto Jackson for our final night in South Island. Everyone got talking to guy on the campsite who was in a Sharabang which apparently originated from Wales. Den was very impressed and declared he was going to get one for himself. Considering Jan didnt think he'd ever leave South Wales for this trip, hes now decided on his next visit and getting a Sharabang! We got to pancake rocks and blowholes in Punakaiki which are so called because of the way they have formed in stacks. Apparently scientists don't know why this is, and it is one of natures last secrets (or so it said on the sign) anyway they were good to see, and ... read more