Punakaki and the west coast

Today we hit the road again, to pick up the trip that was abruptly cut short after the jetboat accident. Neither of us particularly wanted to go back to Hanmer Springs, so we headed straight for the west coast instead. En route, we stopped off at Kura Tawhiti to examine some massive boulders - it doesn't sound wildly exciting, but they were pretty big up close. This also gave me a chance to try out the new polarising filter for my camera, a belated anniversary present from Skry. It really makes the blue sky pop, so I expect I'll have some lovely landscape photos by the end of this trip.

After a somewhat torturous trip through Arthur's Pass - I don't enjoy those high twisting mountain roads - we made it to Greymouth, picked up some groceries, and headed on to Punakaki. We stayed at the Punakaki Beach Camp, which was $28 for the night and provided everything we needed. The main attraction of Punakaki is the pancake rocks, which are some sort of weird geological formation, and the rocky stacks and arches which are constantly pounded by the sea. It was impressive if you're into that sort of thing, but to be honest I was more excited by the deer and family of goats which we spotted in the trees along the side of the road. The trees on this coast are extremely dense and green, almost like a rain forest, with lots of tall ferns and New Zealand flax, so I can see how it would be a fantastic hiding place for wild animals.

I was pretty tired after the long drive from Christchurch, so I retired early, but Skry went out adventuring to a glow-worm cave up the road. I'm not sure what he expected before he set out, but from what he said I think that it was a bit unnerving to be alone, in a pitch-black cave, at midnight, with a full moon and a full tide. If it was a horror film, the whole audience would be yelling, "Don't go in there!". However, he came back in one piece, so I suppose it wasn't that dangerous after all...