Punakaiki and the Pancake Rocks

Some more Rocks
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From Franz Josef we stopped at Hokitika, a town famous for its greenstone art shops and then drove onto Punakaiki, famous for its Pancake Rocks. Punakaiki is a tiny place in the Paparoa Range, a 1500m granite and gneiss ridge inlaid with limestone that seperates the coastal strip from the valleys.

The Pancake Rocks are the result of crashing waves forcing spectacular blowholes through a pancake like stack of weathered limestone. This is often the only thing that people see of the Paparoa National Park, but we decided to stay 2 nights (at the Te Nikau Retreat, a bit overrated if you ask us, but still a very relaxing spot in the bush).