Punakaiki, West Coast

Finally, a little exploring of the West Coast beyond Westport! There is one through road on the West Coast, Highway 6, so we were sure to come across the town of Punakaiki as we drove south toward glacier country. 

There is a little town that has a few B&Bs, a resort, and a tavern, but the primary draw is the pancake rocks on the coastline. For reasons geologists haven't quite figured out, the limestone here at Punakaiki appears in layers, like a stack of pancakes. The geologists know how the layers formed (immense pressure on alternating hard and soft layers of marine creature remains and plant sediments); what they don't know is why here? Why not in the limestone all along the NZ coast?

Approaching Punakaiki from Westport.

Opposite the jagged coastline, there is dense foliage that gives way to rainforest.

The river rocks show that the beach once came this far inland.

Back on Highway 6, driving south from Punakaiki.