Life . . . Reframed: Pancake Rocks, Flax and Nelson

Farewell to Greymouth

Leaving Greymouth, we carried on up the west coast through Paparoa National Park to the Pancake Rocks and blowholes at Punakaiki. This is one of the more spectacular sites we have visited in New Zealand - 30 million year old rock formations that look like stacked pancakes. There is a wonderful hiking trail loop that takes you out to the coastline to be completely wowed at every turn by jaw-dropping scenery and beautiful plantlife, including plenty of the beautiful New Zealand flax that we see everywhere.

Driving the rocky shores of the west coast of the south island

The west coast - not a lot of sand along this stretch!

The shoreline and wave action near Pancake Rocks

Walking through the jungle of flax to get to the rocks

Even the scientists can't explain these crazy formations

First sighting

Some of the pathways and bridges in the Pancake Rocks area

Loved this rocky stairwell

That's a lot of pancakes!

Rock bridge - stunning!

A flax hedge

We even got to see the rare Weka bird, a distant relative of the Kiwi bird (which we have not sighted yet - they are nocturnal) We thought this would be a 20 minute stop, but it turned into about 2 hours. Fantastic and highly recommended if you're planning a trip to New Zealand. We also stopped in at the beachfront of the Punakaiki resort and collected a few rocks. Yes, we're certifiable.

Weka in the bushes

On the beach at Punakaiki Resort

Lots of nice stones to find on this beach!

Beautiful spot on the beach

Narrowing down the search area

At the town of Westport, we stopped to have lunch and noticed that they sell pot plants here. Not the same kind as we have at home though :-)

I admit I did a double-take when I saw this sign

And you know you're not in Canada anymore when you see signs like this one:

NOT a Tim Horton's!

At Westport, we turned inland from the coast and followed some spectacular scenery along the Buller River and stopped at a viewpoint high up in the hills at a place called Tapawera. Not a lot there, except for exceptional views. We met a couple of fellows who were on their way to a 'guys weekend', and got chatting with them about it. They were telling us that their last trip had been to a place called the Chatham Islands - these are 750 km to the east of New Zealand, but are part of the country, and the first place in the world to see the sunrise each day! I'd never heard of them before - always something to learn on this trip!

The roadway along the Buller River

Perfect Jet-boating river - lovely driving scenery

We arrived in Nelson early in the afternoon, and checked into a great AirBnb - this one is our own apartment on the ground floor of the home. We have a lovely sundeck in the flower-filled, sun-drenched back yard and a full one-bedroom apartment complete with washing machine. Time to get some laundry done! Our hosts even put up a Canadian flag on the balcony to welcome us. I love New Zealanders!

Home for a few days in New Zealand - complete with flag!
Those of you who know Glen well will appreciate
how much he appreciated the flag

The view from our deck

The trees and bushes are in bloom. Stunning colours

Loved this tree

The Nelson area really doesn't leave much to be desired. We visited several beaches and hiking trails that are all within a 20 minute drive of town, along with a huge nature reserve called Rabbit Island. Or you can just go to the beach in town - it's a few miles long, gorgeous sand, clean, shallow and warm water. It's a haven for windsurfers and a great place to learn in protected waters. The town is not too big, and not too small, clean, safe and friendly. I can see why people would choose to live here.