Wendy and I emerged from the Buller Gorge region and finally found some wider, less curvy roads--whew!! It's exhausting driving on such tiny roads with hairpin turns. We ended up near Westport and drove along the coast for a while, making a few stops to check out the scenery.
Our first little jaunt on the South Island's western coast was a nice walkway along the Cape Foulwind area. Signs pointed us towards a NZ fur seal colony, and sure enough, a few of them were scattered on the rocks.
Wow! The rocky coastline combined with the beautiful mix of the temperate rainforest flora made for a breathtaking combination. The further we drove, the more spectacular the scenery. On the left, tall cliffs of green, like remote places in Hawaii; on the right, huge rock formations and aqua blue seaspray.
These areas are known habitat for the blue penguin, as many of them cross the highway to get to nesting grounds on the beach.
This land inspires me. I want to spend hours here doing yoga, writing poetry, meditating, soaking it all in like a tiny sponge, not big enough to absorb each detail.
The rocks changed from dappled to layer cake formations of limestone and mudstone, a little parfait where the mudstone washed away years ago and left some amazing formations behind. Behold, Pancake Rock/Dolomite Point in Punakaiki. Location for numerous calendar photos! So gorgeous.
Supposedly, when the tide is incoming, the waves dash against the rocks and water spurts up like a whale's blowhole. That would be cool to see.
In general, this land has not decided what to be, so it is a bit of everything: rainforest, craggy coastline, pastures, sharpened mountain edges, all right next to each other.
We ended up at another Top 10 Holiday Park (campground) with a spot right next to the ocean. We left our windows open all night to hear the roar of the waves crash while the storm blew over us. Heavy rains and ferocious winds literally rocked our campervan, and I have never been so grateful to not be sleeping inside a tent!
2 comments:
Isn't the short path down to punakaiki's Truman Cove fabulous!!--such intense rainforest! I'm sorry you didn't get to see the pancake's blow--it's a really cool show as the ground literally rumbles1 But, you did get rare sunshine--yay!
It is SUCH a great easy walk to amazing views. I wanted to hang out on the beach for days there! Sooo gorgeous.
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