Our day was spent traveling from Richmond to Franz Josef (about 5.5 hours drive). On the way, we detoured to see the famous Pancake Rocks and blowholes at Punakaiki. The interesting geological formations by the sea were slowly being eroded by the elements and it has caused chasms and caverns and blowholes. We drove along some lovely winding coastal roads. NZ roads are interesting - there are numerous river crossings (some really wide) and there are lots of one lane bridges or sections of winding roads. The water in rivers and lakes in NZ are usually crystal clear (unlike the muddy Murray River), but every now and then, we encountered 'milky' rivers like this one. The. turquoise colour was amazing, and looked very unreal.
Highlights:
MK: Pancakes at Pancake rocks.
MJ: Learning how to solve the Rubik's Cube blindfolded
MH: Pancakes at Pancake rocks.
Logbook:
08:00 (253 km) Breakfast of toast and Nutella.
09:00 (253 km) Left Oxford Court Motel.
13:15 (504 km) Punakaiki. Lunch of crackers with dip and smoked salmon and chicken sandwich. Punakaiki has pancake rocks, blowhole and cavern. Someone actually cooked some pancakes and took some photos.
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| Pancakes at the Pancake Rocks, Punaikaiki |
15:05 (504 km) Left Punakaiki.
16:45 (604 km) Hokitika.
18:45 (737 km) Franz Josef. Franz Josef Top 10 Holiday Park. Room 8. Dinner at Full of Beans cafe - Chowder, pasta, fish and chips and steak burger.