Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
dreds of thirsty gold-diggers staking claims along the Nile River. There's not much left
now except a motel, campground, a clutch of local houses and the brilliant Norwest Ad-
ventures (
Click here
)
with whom you can explore some utterly amazing hidden treasures.
From here to Punakaiki is a staggeringly beautiful panorama of lowland pakihi scrub
and lush green forest alongside a series of bays dramatically sculpted by relentless ocean
fury. Drive as slowly as the traffic behind you will allow.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Punakaiki & Paparoa National Park
Located midway between Westport and Greymouth is Punakaiki, a small settlement be-
side the rugged 380-sq-km Paparoa National Park. For most travellers it's a quick stop
for coffee and a squiz at the Pancake Rocks, which is a shame because there's excellent
tramping and other wild adventures, and plenty of accommodation.
Sights
Paparoa National Park is blessed with high cliffs and empty beaches, a dramatic moun-
tain range, crazy limestone river valleys, diverse flora, and a profusion of birdlife, in-
cluding weka and the Westland petrel, a rare sea bird which nests only here.
Pancake Rocks
NATURAL FEATURE
Punakaiki is famous for its fantastic Pancake Rocks and blowholes. Through a layering-
weathering process called stylobedding, the Dolomite Point limestone has formed into
what looks like piles of thick pancakes. Aim for high tide (tide times are posted at the
visitor information centre) when the sea surges into caverns and booms menacingly
through blowholes. See it on a wild day and be reminded that Mother Nature really is the
boss. An easy 15-minute walk loops from the highway out to the rocks and blowholes.
Activities
Tramps around Punakaiki include the
Truman Track
(30 minutes return) and the
Pun-
akaiki-Porari Loop
(3½ hours), which goes up the spectacular limestone Pororari River
gorge before popping over a hill and coming down the bouldery Punakaiki River to re-
join the highway.
Surefooted types can embark on the
Fox River Cave Walk
(three hours return), 12km
north of Punakaiki and open to amateur explorers. BYO torch and sturdy shoes.
