The Great Coast Road

Having retraced the journey to Westport, I joined the Great Coast Road to continue my journey southwards. The road at first appears to be a misnomer as it winds its way through bush and shrub land. Then, around one of the many corners, the stunning views hit me somewhere right between my eyes. Again, crammed between towering hills and the rough coast, this beautiful stretch of the SH6 takes me to the geologically fascinating Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki.

Arriving shortly before high tide in order to see the other big attraction of Punakaiki National Park - the blowholes. As the sea surges into caverns and booms menacingly through the blowholes, Mother Nature is gently reminding those of us perched on the Dolomite Point Limestone Cliffs who really is boss.

I continue south until the night reduces the landscape to the narrow tunnel of tarmac caught in the headlights. Beyond the darkness, the horizon begins to glow orange. I am seeing the lights of Hokitika, a stronghold of indigenous pounamu.