The West Coast (Hokitika, Punakaiki & Westport)
Trip Start
Nov 05, 2002
1
50
69
Trip End
Aug 13, 2003
Westport,
New Zealand
Thursday, June 12, 2003
From Franz Joseph we drove north to a cool town with an even cooler name, Hokitika. We got very comfortable there and due to a combination of things (nice laid-back town with a nice beach, nice van park with good facilities and nice sunny days) we hung around for 2 nights just recharging the batteries. I didn't think we needed a break like that but I guess every now and then it's required to just stop and do absolutely nothing for a day or two! So we got to do that in Hokitika. While in Hokitika we also booked our Inter Island ferry ticket for the trip to the North Island which is due to depart in 5 days.
Continuing north up the coast we got to see some lovely scenery and stopped off in the Paparoa National Park at Punakaiki (Maori for "a spring of food") to see the Pancake rocks & Blowholes. These amazing structures consist of layers of limestone eroded by the force of the Tasman sea surf over years. The rocks are part of the relatively new Paparoa National Park which runs from rugged mountaintops to a spectacular coastline, encompassing 30,000 hectares. The park is based on a karst limestone landscapes full of secret caves, streams that disappear and reappear via holes in the ground, and awesome river gorges.
Continuing north we arrived here in Westport. It's here we'll spend the night before leaving the coast tomorrow and heading inland via Buller gorge. We'll update you on our progress in the coming days. Until then.
Dave & B
