Blogs from Punakiaki, West Coast, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 2

Following a few more days of drunkeness and cultures in Wellington (my favourite NZ city so far) - where I meet up with a few guys from the orchard, and even the owners - I finally made it across the Cook Strait to the South Island. The crossing is well known as being highly dangerous, but also beautiful as you enter into the Marlborough Sounds. This means 'fijords' for those of you as uniformed as I. Alas on the day I ventured across its was very safe, calm, and hoggy as hell! You could literally see nothing and we were amused instead by the captain calling us on deck to see the dolphins, and realising that the island is not really south but in fact west of the north! Getting the ferry across did fell like ... read more

I heard about this great hostel from a couple at Kinloch lodge so I booked two nights here before I left. I wanted to visit Punakiki because it has a rugged coastline and the famous "Blow Holes" where the pounding surf surges through vertical holes in the sandstone and blows up into the sky. Quite dramatic. Anyway I arrived yesterday to a rainforest retreat surrounded by native forest and 8 minutes from an incredible beach. I'm staying in a small A-frame that has windows on the ceiling that look up into the forest and the sky. I can see the stars at night. I have to walk a small trail into my oasis through forest and past other well hidden retreats. My place doesn't have electricity so last night I lit 10 small candles and read ... read more

Punakiaki is famous for its 'pancake' rocks. So called because the limestone rocks have weathered to resemble stacks of pancakes. At high tide the sea is forced through blowholes in the rocks to give spectacular effects.... read more

Det borjar lacka mot jul och vi maste bestamma oss for vad vi da ska hitta pa. En vandring kallad "Inland Pack-track" lockar genom att erbjuda overnattning under ett flera hundra meter langt grottoverhang, dar vi kan ata julmiddag. Darfor aker vi langs vastkusten ner till Punakaiki, dar denna vandring utgar ifran. Pa vagen stannar vi ett par timmar i Westport dar vi koper julklappar och julmat. Dock regnar det under hela resan dit och har tydligen regnat en hel del innan och kommer tydligen att regna en hel del mer. Darfor avrader personalen pa info-kontoret oss fran att ga denna vandring (vi kommer inte kunna komma over floden innan grottan) sa det blev inget med det. Vi trostar oss med att titta pa "Pancake Rocks" vilket ar den stora turistattraktionen i Punakaiki. Stenformationerna i havet ... read more

Rich and I got up early and met Alison, Andre’s wife, who cooked us a delicious breakfast featuring bacon and eggs, homemade muesli with freshly-made yoghurt, tomatoes from the garden. I tried some Vegemite on toast - VERY salty and definitely a taste I’m not likely to acquire. Then our fellow guests Penny and Greg arose, and it turned out they were from Santa Barbara so we were an all-California contingent. The property was wonderful - great vistas, lovely gardens, very warm hospitality. One mistake Rich and I made was not discovering the chocolates in the bathroom before turning on the powerful bathroom heater… As we enjoyed the common room, Alison excused herself to feed the calves. Penny and Greg said goodbye and hit the road, and about ½ hour later we said our goodbyes to ... read more