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.