Punakaiki

The next day we drove up to Punakaiki. There we went to the Pancake rocks. These rocks are a pretty big tourist attraction on the West Coast. It was busy but not busy as in New York busy, busy as in maybe twenty people New Zealand busy. I think I have a rock fetish and for this I blame my mom. These rocks were pretty amazing and reminded me of sandcastles I made as a kid, you know the ones that you make with wet sand and look like melted candle wax. There was a nice path that you could take that gave you some nice views of the Pancake rocks and even featured highlights like blow holes ya-hoo!



After Punakaiki we made our way up the road. One of your friends, Peter Berry, from the Wednesday night session group in Hastings told us about a hike that followed along the Fox River to a spot called the Ballroom overhang. It was a beautiful day and we thought it would be great to camp out for the evening. From what Peter had told us it sounded like an amazing hike and the camp site sounded great as well because the overhang kept you dry if it did start to rain.


We started off from the parking lot and found that we would be crossing the Fox River a few times along the hike. It was absolutely beautiful and we managed the river crossings.



The Ballroom overhang was about as long as a football field and at night you could see glow worms sparkling on the sides of the cliff.



We even heard a kiwi that night. They have a fun screeching call. The next morning we saw what we thought was a kiwi but turned out to be a weka. A bird with a body much like a kiwi but has a bigger beak. They also are not as cautious as the kiwi and will come into populated areas.

It was raining that morning and we were warned by one of the hikers we passed on the way into the ballroom overhang that if it started to rain crossing the rivers would be almost impossible so we could get stuck out there. It was around 6 am and we decided to pack quickly and hit the trail. It had not been raining too bad so we figured we would be ok and could make it out before the rivers got too high. We were very careful when crossing the rivers and made sure to use each other for support. Our adrenline was pumping by the time we made it to the car and we were soaked to the bone.

Once we got in the car we decided we needed to find a place to stay that was dry. We decided on a bed and breakfast in Reefton because it had a washer and a dryer. The lady that ran the B&B showed me the dryer which was in the garage and told me she had never used it before but thought I would be able to figure it out. Funny:) Most people in New Zealand use their clothes lines.