Category: West Coast

Pancake Rocks Circuit, Punakaiki, Westland NZ

Pancake Rocks & blow holes are an interesting tourist attraction near the small village of Punakaiki that are accessed on a very short walk.

A colleague suggested we visit Pancake Rocks near Punakaki on our drive down NZ’s West Coast. As a tourist attraction it is recommended, with a variety of interesting rock formations, often in layers, (hence the pancake reference), and also blow holes and bird nesting sites. The blow holes weren’t blowing on the day we did this walk. They kinda sucked 😉

As a walking experience it is more akin to strolling in a city park, being very short and on a paved track. This is just one to stretch the legs on the drive up or down the coast, or if you are staying in the area.

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Cape Foulwind Walkway, Westport NZ

A pleasant and easy walk through a re-vegetated strip of coast near Westport.

On our first visit to the New Zealand’s West Coast we planned first to drive over from Christchurch via the Lewis Pass and spend a night in Westport, then drive down the coast and spend some time there doing walks in glacier country. Nevertheless, we had a couple of hours spare in Westport and went out to see the coast and discovered the pleasant Cape Foulwind Walkway. A local school and the DOC have been re-vegetating this coastal strip with native plants since the 90’s, so  it is quite attractive in places. Continue reading “Cape Foulwind Walkway, Westport NZ”