Pancake Rocks
We woke up and I made coffee for Eli and oatmeal for everyone, then we got on the road. With the choice to head south we had lost a little of our comfortable time on the southern island of New Zealand, so we hustled a little to get some of that time back. We drove up the coast from the glacier all the way through lunchtime, then stopped to see the pancake rocks national park in Punakaiki.
We ate lunch, then braved the wind and rain to head out on the short walk to the rocks. As we stepped outside, I had my first experience with a weka, a brown, flightless bird native to New Zealand. I immediately dubbed it the "fool's kiwi" cause I was hoping to see one and it looked vaguely similar. They're something like a pigeon or chicken, and make chicken noises, but steal your food like a pigeon or seagull.
We walked out to the park, and the experience was pretty cool—one of Eli's favs of the trip. The rocks are limestone layers of plant sediment and marine sediment, which produce different erosion patterns. This means that the stone, when weathered, produces a shape something like a stack of pancakes as the soft parts wear faster than the harder ones. The ocean had produced a series of blowholes, caves, weathered valleys and more, each of which was still being battered by the angry sea.
Eli and I enjoyed the structures, while the kids made use of their wellies and jumped in every puddle—even Henry, who was, again, super stoked to be off leash and wandering in the world. About a half an hour later, we were back in the car, changed into warm, dry clothes, and on the road to Westport.
We tried to find a good campsite on the way and headed to the cape foulwind lighthouse to make dinner. I cooked chicken and mushrooms but wet had to move on to a better campsite for the night.
We found a free camp in Westport right on the beach and went to bed. It was late and everyone was tired from a long day of traveling—nothing else too exciting at all. We don't have many concrete plans for the rest of our trip, just some general ideas. We're a little tired on driving, so we might take an easy day soon.
We ate lunch, then braved the wind and rain to head out on the short walk to the rocks. As we stepped outside, I had my first experience with a weka, a brown, flightless bird native to New Zealand. I immediately dubbed it the "fool's kiwi" cause I was hoping to see one and it looked vaguely similar. They're something like a pigeon or chicken, and make chicken noises, but steal your food like a pigeon or seagull.
We walked out to the park, and the experience was pretty cool—one of Eli's favs of the trip. The rocks are limestone layers of plant sediment and marine sediment, which produce different erosion patterns. This means that the stone, when weathered, produces a shape something like a stack of pancakes as the soft parts wear faster than the harder ones. The ocean had produced a series of blowholes, caves, weathered valleys and more, each of which was still being battered by the angry sea.
Eli and I enjoyed the structures, while the kids made use of their wellies and jumped in every puddle—even Henry, who was, again, super stoked to be off leash and wandering in the world. About a half an hour later, we were back in the car, changed into warm, dry clothes, and on the road to Westport.
We tried to find a good campsite on the way and headed to the cape foulwind lighthouse to make dinner. I cooked chicken and mushrooms but wet had to move on to a better campsite for the night.
We found a free camp in Westport right on the beach and went to bed. It was late and everyone was tired from a long day of traveling—nothing else too exciting at all. We don't have many concrete plans for the rest of our trip, just some general ideas. We're a little tired on driving, so we might take an easy day soon.