Greymouth Punakaiki
Episode: 1
Title: Greymouth Punakaiki
Broadcast: Oct 30 2016
Presenter: Trevor Cochrane and Christina Morrissy
There’s nothing quite like a great car trip, and Chrissy Morrissy and Trevor Cochrane enjoy their drive down the coast. This is a bit more rugged with spectacular scenery of the Tasman Sea on the way to Punakaiki. Otherwise known as Pancake Rocks.
The drive taken by Trevor and Chrissy is one of the best coastal drives in the world – along the coast of the South Island. The drive takes about half an hour. There are plenty of opportunities and reasons to stop along the way, and the coast road hugs the ocean as it winds its way into Punakaiki.
Less than 10 minutes walk from the car park, along a series of raised walkways is a destination that is just incredible – Pancake Rocks.
Pancake Rocks have been compressed under the earth and then pushed up over 30 million years to create what looks like many stacks of pancakes. The layers are made up from hard limestone and softer sandstone, and over the years they’ve been subjected to pressure and then lifted up from the ocean floor and exposed to the elements.
The best time to see these rock formations is at high tide, and it’s also the best time to experience the blowholes.
- The water rushes in between the rocks and tunnels creating spectacular blowholes.
- Punakaiki gets even better when the weather is wild. Well worth a look if you’re passing by.
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