As you’re driving south on route 6 on the west coast of the south island, marveling at the ocean and continuous crash of waves along the shore, there will be a point when you look ahead and see the rock formations just off the shoreline start to change. They start to look, well, sedimentary… but that’s not quite it… squashed together… but that’s not quite right…. like pancakes stacked on top of one-another! Yes! That’s what they look like! Drive a little farther still and there’ll be a big sign on a stone wall saying “Pancake Rocks [and] Blowholes”. After you park, you head down a path into what looks like a dark forest, but almost immediately pops you out into the open air (and wind!) next to a very scenic rock wall to line your path down to the many overlooks
I was fortunate enough to encounter this geological marvel twice during my time in New Zealand. The best part was that in my two visits, I had completely different experiences. On the first visit to this amazing place, we had beautiful, clear, sunny weather with only a little bit of wind to deal with. It was nice to just stand out and stare in amazement at the rocks that truly do live up to their nickname “pancake rocks”. My mom and I meandered the path, taking our time at each lookout and staring at the rock formations. They’re beautiful in their own way, but mostly they’re just… weird. I certainly have never seen anything like them before, and scientists can’t even explain why they formed the way
that they did. It’s all fascinating, but equally as mesmerizing is just watching the massive waves crash up against the rocks and wondering how long it will be until the water eventually erodes them enough to take them back out to sea.
The second time I visited Punakaiki is was freezing cold, pouring rain and pretty much miserable weather. I knew my boyfriend would love the rocks so I begrudgingly pulled on my rain jacket and a warm hat and took to the same path knowing I was going to return wet and frozen. When I thought I would just be seeing the same exact pancake rocks, I wasn’t wrong, but the difference was that this time the blowholes were in full force!! As much as I enjoyed the nice weather the first time around, the second time was definitely better when we got to watch the Chimney Pot blowhole explode for the first time…. and for about 20 minutes afterwards while we stood and stared. I probably could have stood and been entertained by it all day. The powerful waves come in through a narrow chute and crash into the rocks so hard that the water has created a blowhole where it continues up until it shoots out of the opening at the top. The water coming out looks like an explosion and soaks anyone who is untimely caught standing on the bridge that continues the walking path.
After the Chimney Pot Blowhole, the path continues to a lookout over another blowhole, which was equally as fascinating, although I couldn’t watch it without getting soaked, so I moved on to watch the surge pool which is an impressive display of the raw power of the ocean. The whole loop is advertised as a 20 minute walking look, but that seems like a serious under-estimation if you’re as fascinated by this place as I was. Either way, the walk is very easy, well maintained and one of the only tracks I’ve seen in New Zealand that was actually paved, so very accessible as well. On your way out, there are two souvenir shops and a restaurant that has a cheeky sign claiming that the “pancakes rock at pancake rocks”. We checked out one of the souvenir shops on the first visit and it was very nice, but nothing out of the ordinary from souvenir shops you’ll find all over New Zealand.
This week I was able to explore the other major lake in Nelson Lakes National Park- Lake Rotoroa. If you recall from a 
few weeks ago, I went for a hike around Lake Rotoiti, which was incredibly scenic and a great introduction to the area where I am living. I decided to venture slightly farther this time, and drove about 40 minutes… or what should have been 40 minutes if I didn’t manage to get a little lost…. to another beautiful lake nestled in between lush green hillsides. After some research before-hand, I decided to do the Braeburn Track hike, which is meant to take about two hours round-trip and goes up to a pretty little waterfall in the woods. I struggled a bit at first to find the start of the hike because it really isn’t a very well marked park, but once I figured it out, I was off! In retrospect I really wasn’t doing very well following directions that day….
The path was well maintained at first despite how wet everything was from all the rain we’ve been having, and I found myself missing my horse, because it would have been a perfect horse-riding trail! Once in the thick of the woods, the trail narrowed and I was again surrounded by lush greenery and plants that I have never seen anywhere else. I don’t have the slightest clue what this tree (is it even a tree?) is, but I am completely fascinated by it! It looks like it has fern leaves, but is growing like a tree? The hike was wonderfully quiet with just the constant 
sound of running water from the stream and the occasional bird. Somehow even when I’m alone, hiking never feels lonely, and I think it’s because there is always something familiar about it. The refreshing smell of the wet earth, the comfortable squish of mud under my hiking boots, the feel of tree bark in my hands when I have to grab onto a tree to keep from falling into that same mud…. really, I’m just as clumsy here as I am everywhere else in the world. But seriously, the hiking here as all been so beautiful and the Braeburn track at Lake Rotoroa was no different.
The last part of the path was not as steep as I would have thought and came out to a view of a long, skinny waterfall that gracefully fell down into a stream below. I had the option to climb down to the bottom of it, but with how wet, muddy and generally bad the footing was, I decided 
to just turn around and follow the path back. The return loop followed the stream most of the way and there were some lovely views of the water as it cascaded over rocks on it’s way to the lake. The whole trek took only about an hour and fifteen minutes, but every second of it was beautifully serene.
Last week I made the five hour trek from where I currently live (St. Arnaud) back down to Springfield (where I was living for my first two weeks here), to help with a ski race my boss was hosting at Porters Ski Area. While five hours in a little car that I don’t even have an AUX cord for, may not seem like an exciting adventure, ANYTIME you drive ANYWHERE in New Zealand, it is an adventure. Between the obvious incredible scenery that changes before your eyes, to driving on the wrong side of some seriously windy roads and the tiny towns you pass through that you would miss if you blinked, it’s all a very different experience.
First things first, the race was a huge success! Our kids all did really well and maybe more importantly- the race went off without a hitch on a beautiful day full of sunshine and warm (for winter) weather! Race days have always been one of my favorite times to be a coach. While they typically involve a lot more work and organization than your average training day, it is so endearing to watch kids try their hardest through all of their nerves and excitement in often times unforgiving conditions. Ski racing can be a brutal sport, both physically and mentally, so being there to support these kids through every high and low and being able to relate to everything they’re going through is really special for me. I ski raced for a long time and I credit this sport for a lot of who I am, and I can only hope that it does for every kid that puts on a race suit as much as it has done for me. Anyways!! I digress….
The first two times I’ve gone from Springfield to St. Arnaud and vice-versa I went over Lewis pass, which is definitely 
a beautiful drive and (surprisingly) more populated, this time I decided to drive back by way of Arthur’s Pass. Both drives are about the same length and estimated time, so it made sense to try something new. I also knew that the Arthur’s Pass drive went right past Castle Hill, which I had been wanting to explore since we drove past it briefly a few weeks ago.
Unfortunately, Castle Hill doesn’t break up the drive very effectively since it’s only about half an hour from Springfield. Oh well! The walk from the parking lot takes you along next to some cattle fields and the rock formations start pretty much right there. Now when I say rock formations, I don’t mean meticulous and man-made (or alien, depending on your personal beliefs) like Stonehenge, I mean half of these rocks look like they 
tumbled to these locations thousands of years ago and the other half look like they suddenly popped up out of the earth and settled into the hillside being perfectly imperfect through no help of human kind. They’re all very smooth and weather-worn into crazy shapes- perfect to climb on and adventure around! Wandering about, it feels like orcs could just pop out at any time from behind the massive boulders… or maybe that’s just my Lord of the Rings obsessed imagination. But seriously, there are some great hiding spots… Aside from the fascinating rocks, the views from up there, looking out over the aforementioned cattle/ sheep fields and off to the snowy mountain peaks of the Southern Alps in the background, were everything that is wonderful about the South Island of New Zealand. Once I was finished nearly getting blown off the rocks (it happened to be extremely windy that day, with rain threatening to start at any moment), I continued along on my road trip.
After a few more mountain views, it wasn’t much farther that the weather went from threatening to rain, to making good on that threat. It absolutely down poured for most of my drive. While this heavily deterred me from doing any of the incredible looking hikes in Arthur’s Pass, I did catch some amazing glimpses of the waterfalls that are 
scattered throughout the pass. In one particular pull-off point, I even saw a Kea (parrot-like and endangered bird) sitting on the railing. Kea’s have become a new obsession of mine since my first day at Porters when I saw a few of them and learned that they are cheeky little birds that live high in the mountains and are apparently not at all afraid of people. Their feathers are greenish brown on their back, but when they fly, you can see the bright red feathers they have under their wings. They’re known to be so curious that they absolutely wreak havoc everywhere they go- getting into anything left unattended by cars, stealing lunches off the table the second you look away, and being general nuisances. Unfortunately, these silly birds are extremely endangered, so any sightings are especially exciting!
The rest of the drive passed pretty uneventfully as the fog set in and I couldn’t see much besides the road (and even that was hard to see a few times). I have definitely learned to overestimate the amount of time I expect it to take to get somewhere, because I really can’t resist pulling over about every 15 minutes to take pictures. I’ll have to remember that for next time.
What a week for small adventures. I drove five hours in heavy rain and fog to the new town that I’ll be living in. I learned how to put chains on a car… and what to do when they break going up a steep, dirt road covered in wet, heavy snow. I realized how much of an adventure just going to the grocery store can be when you’re in a country where you don’t even know the names of the grocery stores, let alone how to get there. And best of all, I discovered that I’m living only five minutes from a national park and I got to experience my first bit of “tramping” in NZ!
I have officially moved into the house I will be living in for the rest of my time working in New 
Zealand. I am staying in the incredibly small town – I’m talking one hotel and one gas station/ convenience store, small – of St. Arnaud. What this town lacks in population and amenities though, it more than makes up for in raw, natural beauty. St. Arnaud is nestled within a short drive of three different National Parks: Kahurangi, Abel Tasman and Nelson Lakes. I am lucky enough to be living only a five minute drive from Nelson Lakes National Park which is full of hiking trails around one of the most scenic lakes I have ever seen, Lake Rotoiti. (Rumor has it there are some massive fresh water eels that are over a hundred years old swimming around in this lake, but since I didn’t know to look on my first trip, I’ll have to make a return and [warily] go check them out!)
Real quick though, before we get too excited about the proximity of some good hiking, let’s go back to a “real life” adventure I experienced. After you move into a new apartment, one of the first things you obviously have to do is stock the cabinets/ fridge! Well, when you’re in a country you’re familiar with, a run to the grocery store is usually pretty simple, you know the food you need, you know the brands you like and most importantly, you know what the grocery store is CALLED. When you’re traveling…. let’s just say, it isn’t quite as simple. Luckily, one of our ski team sponsors is a discount grocery store called Pak n’ Save, which is basically similar in layout to a Costco, but you don’t have to buy in bulk. While this information was helpful, it doesn’t fully prepare you for walking into a store where nothing but the produce looks familiar (and even some of that is different… sweet potatoes are apparently called kumaras in NZ). On another note: HOLY MOLY is food expensive here. Even in the discount store! Honestly 11 NZD for a four pack of tomatoes. Ugh. So, between trying to do conversions from kilos to pounds, and then NZD to USD and just generally staring at all the different brands for everything (I about had a meltdown trying to figure out which of the hundred different brands/ types of bread I should buy) – I definitely left with a bit of a headache… but also a full car’s worth of groceries! The struggle was real, but I’m going to chalk that one up as a success!
Now on to a far more fun and (more importantly) scenic adventure!! As previously mentioned, I am living only five minutes from Nelson Lakes National Park, and while it unfortunately rained most of the past week, it did clear up long enough for me to go on a short hike, or “tramp” as they call it 
here. There are many hikes of varying difficulties and lengths in this National Park and for my first one, I chose to take it a little easier and did one called The Loop Track. The track starts along the shore line of Lake Rotoiti and then ventures up into the thick, but lush green woods that are protected by the Rotoiti Nature Recovery Project. Everywhere I went, there were a million different hues of green, from the moss,
to the tree leaves to the different types of grasses and shrubs, but there was also a surprising amount of black. Many of the trees had black bark, and the mud was so saturated and dark it almost appeared black as well. It was all so overwhelmingly beautiful though, what should have been an easy 2 hour hike, quickly became three because I was constantly stopping to take pictures and just breathe in my incredible surroundings. There were constant songs and noises from birds and little creatures shuffling around, but the shrubbery was so thick that I could only rarely catch sight of them. And while I knew there were animals around, I was shocked that during my whole time in the park (nearly 4 hours by the end of it), I only saw two other people!
The walk through the forest was enchanting, but the real magic was the sight of the lake when the clouds cleared and I could see the glass surface of the water with the rugged, snowy mountains as
far as you could see in the distance. I actually stopped short at my first sight and just stood there for a few minutes while it all seeped into my memory. This was probably the first time since I’ve been here that it finally hit me. I am HERE. I am in New Zealand! A place that I have wanted to visit for as long as I can remember. And it is AMAZING. As I sat on the smooth stone beach on the lake shore, a pair of black swans swam up and were feeding only about 30 feet from where I was sitting. Everything was so peaceful that I completely lost track of time and couldn’t even guess at how long I sat there, just taking the occasional picture and staring at the beauty in front of me. You can look at all the pictures on the internet, but nothing really prepares you for being here.
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