Richmond to Punakaiki

This morning we set off after a bit of a lie in, comparison to the last two days, and headed to Mt Owen where we hoped to see it some resemblance to Lord of the Rings. The drive was gorgeous, through pine forests and native bush which stood on the mountains that surrounded us as we drove through the flat Valley. It was very alpine and we also passed lots of sheep and cows on the flat. There were also lots of creeks and rivers running alongside the road which made it very picturesque.
The road to Mt Own was unsealed and so once again we got to kick up the dust behind us. Unfortunately we didn't get to go as far along the road as we had hoped and as the trek to the actual Lord of the Rings scene was 7hours, it was not something we were able to do. We didn't mind though, the drive was stunning and the mountains around us with green trees and golden grasses on the flat just looked spectacular.

We headed back onto the track again and drove through yet more stunning valleys as we headed to Buller Gorge. I think my camera will soon be full of scenery from the road as it is just that amazing.
The gorge was pretty cool but the best thing was the swing bridge, the longest in new Zealand and pretty fun. Only really wide enough for one person but they encourage passing on the bridge for funsies. We did a nice walk after the bridge which took us through some bush and learnt that part of the gorges cliff edge was actually formed from a 7.8 earthquake years ago which pushed the earth here (we were right on a fault line) straight up 4.5m. The 7.8 earlier this year did the same to the coast of Kaikoura. We also walked a bit further to see a large tree in the forest. It was a a bit of a muddy walk and I wasn't impressed with the number of bees either. They hovered around the forest floor, which I was convinced would make them think we were trying to step on them, and thus just made me think they were going to sting us. After almost heading back, I braved the bees whilst Rob just thought I was being silly and we eventually came to the tree. There were a lot of tall trees I thought but this was also bigger and a different species too.

Our next route was to Cape Foulwind and then the Toranga Seal Colony. This was much more of a winding road, again through the bush and with yet more rivers running alongside. We stopped for some photo ops on route and arrived at Cape Foulwind to enjoy a walk to the lighthouse of this very windy spot. From here we headed to the seal colony. We walked to the beach to see them but there was nothing but sand and a rocky mound offshore that we couldnt have spotted a seal on if we tried. After standing around looking for a short while we headed back to the car and on route noticed a walkway we had missed. Following this track we saw a bird called a Weka, a flightless bird that kinda looks like a chicken/duck and is now under threat in New Zealand, there were a couple in the car park too which was probably a silly place for a flightless bird to hang out.
Finally, after winding around the edge of the cliffs a little way, we arrived at the lookout point that looked down on the rocks below and the seals. So so many seals, many of them easily mistaken for the rocks that they were laying on, only to be spotted when they moved. The best thing was that there were so many seal pups, they were playing in small little nursery pools, running along the rocks and suckling on their mothers. We could have stayed all day to be honest, they were absolutely adorable and it is so nice seeing them in the wild but we needed to head to Punakaiki for sunset.

Once again the drive was incredible. This time more winding roads, but eventually leaving behind the mountains and replacing them with high sided and luscious green cliffs that were met with huge waves that broke along the cliff edge. We stopped again for photos (Rob getting well bitten by sandflies) before arriving at Punakaiki, famous for the pancake rocks and blowholes. It was getting by towards sunset too which made the lighting beautiful and golden against the rocks that literally looked like layers of pancakes. The walk to view them also took us past a surge pool and a blowhole which made a noise like thunder that you could hear well before seeing them. The waves came in with such huge force and the sight of the water gushing up and blasting out the blowholes made even the adults exclaim like they were kids. It was very addictive to watch. The sunset too was stunning. Having had clear skies all day, there were just enough clouds that appeared for sunset to light up the sky on the horizon in the most spectacular colours. I have a feeling our cameras are going to be loaded with photos when we return!

And now we are at camp and ready for sleep.Read more