http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Punakaiki---the-Pancake-Rocks/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Oceania , New Zealand , South Island , Punakaiki the Pancake Rocks en-us Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:49:47 UTC Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:49:47 UTC November 28 2008 Day 57Happy 30th can he possibly be that old birthday to our son Tom. Seems like just a few years ago that we were driving from Yellowstone to Livingston Montana through a blizzard on a road that was closed in a borrowed fourwheeldrive pickup for Tommyrsquos birth. Didnrsquot get going until around 930 this morning. Our park near Fox Glacier that we never saw was http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Punakaiki---the-Pancake-Rocks/blog-350015.html Continuando hacia el sur por la costa oeste dormimos en un hostel cerca de Punakaiki para visitar esa playa al dia siguiente. Este lugar est en el Parque Nacional Paparoa todos lo conocen por las piedras en forma de panqueques apilados que hay en la costa. Entonces hicimos la caminata de 30 min que te lleva a hasta la costa de los Pancake rocks and Blowholes huecos de soplidos y des http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Punakaiki---the-Pancake-Rocks/blog-326462.html Had a quick stop over on our way to catch the ferry to the north island at these limestone pancake formations. We've not seen anything like these before and thought they were pretty cool. Naturally formed through hard soft layering formations of limestone. The sea has worn away a lot of the soft layers creating the jagged structures as well as blow holes which look impressive when the sea lashes http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Punakaiki---the-Pancake-Rocks/blog-301295.html Last night in Hanmer Springs the sky opened up to a spectacular view of the stars. We have never seen so many stars in the sky as we listenend to Chris Tomlin's song Indescribable. Early this morning we drove through the Lewis Pass as we crossed the South Island to the west coast. The west coast is the wet side of the island and it shows with it's lush green terrain. Driving along the coastlin http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Punakaiki---the-Pancake-Rocks/blog-254958.html After a relaxing nights sleep we set off at about 9am to a place called Cape Foulwinds no it wasn't named that because people keep farting here it was because of the strong winds Captain Cook encountered when he sailed here.There's a wild seal coloney here and it's so amazing to see them in the wild On land they are quite lazy and just lie there on the rocks sunbathing but in the sea they http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Punakaiki---the-Pancake-Rocks/blog-239849.html I have wanted to go white water rafting for a long time so I figured why not do it in New Zealand It was so much freakin fun I totally loved it and can see why Tim did this for a living for so long. We rafted along the Rangitati river which runs right down the middle of the South Island. Rangitati means river from the sky and the name is immediately apparent once you see the water. It i http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Punakaiki---the-Pancake-Rocks/blog-214669.html After a bit of shopping we left Westport and took the coast road in fact the only road south. New Zealandrsquos south island basically has a ridge of hills and mountains that track down the West Coast leaving a narrow strip of land between them and the coast. For those that have no idea the south island is much quieter and less populated than the north and a million miles from the city hassl http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Punakaiki---the-Pancake-Rocks/blog-195376.html We got here just after high tide which was great because the main attraction here is the blowholes which are small channels in the rocks that waves crash against and then force the water through to erupt out the other end. The first blowhole we saw was the Chimney Spout which sent out a fine mist of water at least 10m into the air and the top of the hole was probably that high above the waves a http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Punakaiki---the-Pancake-Rocks/blog-179462.html Hey everyone So it's been a whileI've just been hanging out in Nelson waiting for my knee to get better and now I'm racing down the West Coast to get to Christchurch in time to catch my flight to Australia. For those of you who don't know which isn't a whole lot of you I'm going to Australia for two weeks a week from tomorrow Friday I wasn't sure about it at first but now I'm really e http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Punakaiki---the-Pancake-Rocks/blog-169049.html On our road journeys we have to cross many train lines some of which we think are a recipe for disaster Such as the railroad bridges are they designed for trains or cars Anyway lets cross our fingers and hope we make it across this involves driving on an extremely narrow bridge on a railway line track On the way we caught glimpses of stunning coastal scenery huge jagged rocks and windswep http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Punakaiki---the-Pancake-Rocks/blog-162915.html Day 17 Sunday 6th May Left hostel 10.30am and headed towards Greymouth where we would be leaving our Vehicle to catch the Tranzalpine train the following day back to Christchurch We arrived in Greymouth booked a hostel for the night at the 'Noah's Ark Backpackers' very funky little place We decided to book a brewery tour tasting...plus a 5.00 eat as much as you can BBQ Nik was in her http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Punakaiki---the-Pancake-Rocks/blog-157598.html Saturday 5th May 2007.... Feeling a little delicate on saturday we woke to brilliant sunshine. Armed with a bag full of sweets a digital camera and a few over night clothes which was to screw us over later we headed towards the Alps along Highway 73 around 10am We were going straight in between them and the closer we got the more amazing they looked These mountains stretch for miles and th http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Punakaiki---the-Pancake-Rocks/blog-156269.html It was good to wake up this morning naturally rather than by other people getting up at the crack of dawn We had a relaxed morning as we didn't set off for Punakaiki untill about 10.30am. It's best to get there for high tide as thats when the blowholes are at their best. It was only about a 45 minute drive to get there so we checked out the visitor centre and found out the high tide was at 12.15 http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Punakaiki---the-Pancake-Rocks/blog-145310.html No I'm not taking about my arse This morning we drove to Punakaiki. In Punakaiki there are some rocks called 'The Pancake Rocks' see the pics and you'll see why. There are also 'Blowholes' which when the tide is at it strongest they blow the water out of the top. It's pretty cool watching water fly out of the random holes and then shower you afterwards. The views on the way their were real http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Punakaiki---the-Pancake-Rocks/blog-145309.html Today was our day trip to Punakaiki famous for the pancake rocks and the sight of the water coming through the blow holes when the tide comes in. The lady who runs the hostel told us high tide was about 12pm today. Punakaiki is about a 45 min drive up coast from Greymouth so we set off at about 10.30ish this morning. The road is a coastal road so the scenary was beautiful. Very much like the Gr http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Punakaiki---the-Pancake-Rocks/blog-145305.html On the way back up north we stopped at this place to see the rock formations which look like pancakes piled on top of each other. It was coming up to sunset so everywhere looked amazing and to top it off we saw dolphins swimming close by. http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Punakaiki---the-Pancake-Rocks/blog-137351.html We are just starting our fourth week in New Zealand. The weather has been beautiful throughout following a very disappointing summer for the Kiwis. Just arrived in time for a really settled spell.We spent longer in the North Island than we had planned largely because we stayed with Christine's cousin Ian and his wife Sue. They made us so welcome and we fell in love with their two children Cein http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Punakaiki---the-Pancake-Rocks/blog-130945.html You might be forgiven for thinking that today's blog has something to do with everyon'e favourite Shrove Tuesday meal but the pancake reference is in fact all about our visit to the rather interesting Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki on the west coast of South Island. Yesterday's bad weather continued all through the night and into the morning so we weren't hopeful for a good experience of the Pancake R http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Punakaiki---the-Pancake-Rocks/blog-128070.html Both Glynn and I have always been good honest lawabiding citizens all our lives yet today we found ourselves doing something completely out of character but worry not for although what we did this morning was not exactly the right thing we were a far cry from doing anything illegal. Let me explain...It all started when we woke up this morning and Glynn went to the toilet. Just as he left the http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Punakaiki---the-Pancake-Rocks/blog-127793.html