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Located in the heart of the Paparoa National Park, midway between Westport and Greymouth, is Punakaiki, on the ‘Coast Road’, one of New Zealand’s most spectacular coastal drives.

Nearby are the Pancake rocks and blowholes; limestone rock formations that have been transformed by a layering and weathering process known as stylobedding into what look like stacks of thin pancakes. When the tide rises, seawater surges into caverns below the rocks and squirts out in impressive geyser-like jets.

A short loop walk providing fabulous views of the phenomena follows from the road around the rocks. Guided beach, forest and mountain walks introduce the area’s beauty, and in the winter months the rare Westland black petrels return to their colony to breed.