Punakaiki (“a spring of food” to the Maori) is a seaside village best known for its Pancake Rocks and Blowholes. Pancake Rocks are columns of limestone resembling stacks of pancakes (made sense to me). At high tide, seawater is forced up through blowholes. Punakaiki also the center for exploring Paparoa National Park and is a major tourist attraction on the West Coast of the South Island.

Punakaiki’s history also included gold seekers, headed by the Sams Party known as “Black Sam, White Sam, French Sam, and another Sam.” Don’t you love that? Brighton boomtown resulted from gold fever and had over 53 pubs that have all vanished. The group had a choice of activities: hike a section of the Inland Pack Track in Paparoa National Park; arrange a boat safari to see dolphins, sea birds and other marine life; or do nothing.

Pancake Rocks Blowholes in Punakaiki, New Zealand
The section of the Inland Pack Track, created in the mid-1800′s for gold miners to move through the area, started at the end nearest Punakaiki. It takes about two days to walk to entire Track and there are no huts along it. You’d have to backpack, bring a tent and supplies which has never appealed to me. An easy hike through the rainforest and canyons.

part of Inland Pack Track, Punakaiki, New Zealand
We also “tramped” a portion of the Truman Track another popular short walk in Punakaiki. This track led through more sub-tropical rainforests of ferns, nikau palms, rimu, flax flats and emerged on a gravel beach. There were views of the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes on this section.

along the Truman Track in Punakaiki, New Zealand
A brief definition of “Tramping” in New Zealand in case you aren’t familiar with this term – hiking in the back country, usually overnight and carrying a pack. The English and Aussies also go “tramping.”

Pancake Rock area map, New Zealand
On the way to Hokitika, we spent some time checking out greenstone workshops and local art galleries. (“Greenstone” is a basic igneous rock colored green by chlorite.) Hokitika is one of New Zealand’soldest towns. We were just driving through but there is some extreme white water kayaking and mountaineering around here. Its beaches are rugged and consist of gold-bearing black sand and the occasional greenstone. I looked, but found nothing.

Hokitika also had a Glow-worm Dell with free viewing of glow-worm colonies but glow-worms only glow at night (duh) and this was daytime.

Then on to Harihari (I love that name) where we did an afternoon hike along the coast to a rock known as “the Doughboy.” Harihari is slightly inland from the Tasman Sea and situated between two rivers. It was once a logging settlement and some of the most popular activites in the Harihari area include bushwalking, birdwatching and fishing.

preparing either breakfast or lunch at Okarito Beach Lodge
Tonight’s stay was at the Okarito Beach Lodge and “Fish” concocted a delicious Barbeque Dinner.