Punakaki Blowholes

Here's a map showing our travels so far. From Lake Rotoroa we went through the Buller Gorge and out to the west coast. This section of the coast is so interesting with dramatic vegetation changes, soaring cliffs, and unususal coastal rock formations. We stopped frequently during the day and explored numerous beaches and caves....



Adjacent to the coast the solid NZ flax stands change to palms, tree ferns, and evergreen trees as you move inland.

This was our first beach stop.

This beautiful rivermouth had a large cave that we explored.


I love the palms and tree ferns!


We stayed at this lovely beach for a little while.


The 'sand' was pure ground granite.

This little hebe grew right out of the rock! The rock was in the surf zone, too.



NZ flax and Cordyline australis at the coast.

The kelp here is really unusual. It's super thick and rubbery on the outside, and has honeycomb-like cells on the thick inside for bouyancy. They appear to cling to the rocks with the 'gripper thingy' in Jon's hand. The skinny things float up and wave about in the surf. Really cool.


This viewpoint let us look back to the north to all of the beaches we explored...

And down to the south to the beaches yet to be explored. Our next stop is the point in the distance, Punakaki Blowholes.


The track out to the point wound through a coastal rainforest, then through solid stands of NZ flax. The flax is HUGE here.

This beach is amazing! Lots of caves and massive slabs of rock strewn about.

Waterfall above the cave

This terrace is where the blowholes are. When a wave comes in and hits the cliff just right,

You get a really great blast of water! We ate lunch on a bench overlooking the spectacle.


After eating, we headed down to the beach.


You could see the weird effect the water has on the rock inside the caves.






Male supermodel of the year, Jon Truelander.

We explored the inside of the rock to the left (the 'c' shaped one), which was a giant blowhole.



This cave was really amazing...look at that wind pattern...looks like a nautilus.

We continued south to more beaches...

More caves...

and off to the Pancake rocks!!!