Walk Details

NZ Walking Routes > Great Walks > Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and Blowholes, Paparoa National Park

Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and Blowholes, Paparoa National Park

Location
Paparoa National Park is located in the northern part of the South Island's West Coast, alongside SH6, between the towns of Westport and Greymouth. These are located at Dolomite Point, near the little settlement of Punakaiki which is located on SH6, 40 minutes drive north of Greymouth and 50 minutes south of Westport.
Description

The Pancake Rocks are most spectacular in the Putai area. They were formed 30 million years ago from minute fragments of dead marine creatures and plants landed on the seabed about 2km below the surface. Immense water pressure caused the fragments to solidify in hard and soft layers. Gradually seismic action lifted the limestone above the seabed. Mildly acidic rain, wind and seawater sculpted the bizarre shapes.

The starting point is clearly signposted across from the Department of Conservation Visitor Centre at Punakaiki.

Easy walking for up to an hour.
Track is well formed, with an even surface.
There may be steps or slopes
Suitable for people of most abilities and fitness
Stream and rivers crossings are bridged
Walking shoes required

The famous Pancake Rocks and Blowholes are just a 20 minute loop walk from where you park your vehicle on the main highway at Punakaiki. Looking like giant pancakes the curious limestone formations are especially spectacular at high tide in a westerly sea.

Take the left-hand branch at the first fork. It passes through a dark canopy of wind-shorn coastal forest where there are fine examples of nikau – New Zealand’s only native palm. Tree ferns and kiekie vine feature among the tangle of subtropical species closer to the forest floor. In clear weather Aoraki//Mt Cook and other high peaks of the Southern Alps make a picture in the far south.

At the first fork on the track listen for the sound of activity at the Sudden Sound Blowhole a few metres straight ahead. This blowhole only sprays when the sea is very rough but it does emit a noise like a train in a tunnel as the sea surges through subterranean passages.

To the left of the fork the track descends to the Surge Pool where you look down on a dramatic spectacle as the sea powers in underneath, sometimes through a huge build-up of foam. Nearby, the Chimney Pot Blowhole emits columns of spray as the sea gushes in through a narrow rock channel.

The track crosses a bridge between pot and pool and climbs to a viewpoint above Putai – the biggest blowhole. Putai is more a fissure than a hole. When the sea thunders through the caverns below, a mixture of compressed water and air escapes upward as a wall of spray, visible for a long distance on stormy days.

A stepped section of track, quite steep in places, leads down and across the arched western entrance to the Surge Pool. You can avoid the steps and turn back here, then turn left at the intersection beyond the bridge to rejoin the track back to the highway.

Various rock stacks are very picturesque in the sea out from the arch.

More steps lead to two viewpoints – Pororari Beach to the north and the Surge pool to the south.

On the return journey the track re-enters the coastal forest, dark and mysterious after the open seascapes.

The area abounds with marine mammals, bird life, mountain views and coastal forest.

Because the return track suddenly emerges on the highway make sure children are not running ahead. A lifebelt near Sudden Sound Blowhole reminds us it is very dangerous to stray from the track and to take special care of children – keep to the formed path and do not go beyond safety barriers.

The Westland petrel/titi colony south of the Punakaiki River is the only known place in the world where these burrowing seabirds breed. The birds live mostly out at sea, but during the breeding season you can see them flying to and from the colony at dusk and dawn.

Duration
0.2 hours
Level
Easy
Amenities
  • Birds
  • Historical
  • Lookouts
  • Plant Life
Source
www.doc.govt.nz
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