Im not sure the photo does justice to these ‘pancake rocks’ at Punakaiki on the west coast….They are unique apparently and have these cool ‘blowholes’ which are quite a distance inland from the beach…when the sea crashes into the shore the waves continue in through tunnels and with the pressure build-up the water spouts high out of the ground at points such as this one known as ‘the chimney’. It is quite addictive to watch…like sitting in front of a fire….obviously the rougher the water the better the display of fountains from the blowholes.

That day I cycled from Greymouth to the rocks at Punakaiki – a distance of 45kms – and fully intended to cycle back. Now I think the last time I cycled any distance was the Belfast-Dublin maracycle and I clearly forgot the pain which is experienced from the bicycle seat. It will also serve as a reminder that free bikes at the backpackers are never quite such a good idea as they seem because the saddle will almost certainly be bottom of the range. It was so much not an option for me to cycle back the 45km that I has to accost this poor courier man in a van who was delivering to a roadside café. I asked him if he was heading south and could he give me (and my bicycle) a lift down the coast. He was a little unsure and said he didn’t normally do this and in fact had never lifted hitch-hikers because he could do without the trouble. So I began to wonder if he was insinuating that I looked like trouble…hhmmm. Well, anyhow, I thought he was safe because his young son was travelling with him and so he re-directed my request to his child (nice, I thought, to consider him in it)…and said “Well, Bailey, how do you feel about sharing the front seat with a stranger”. (I thought to myself…that’s what I am to them….a total random. It was a strange feeling.) Thankfully the child was feeling generous and possibly took pity on me as he later recounted a story about having been made to cycle huge distances…so I got a lift down the road, arrived safe and sound…nothing dodgy at all, and most importantly, didn’t have to get back on that bike seat. Happy days.


This was the moment when I thought I had spotted the almost extinct kiwi bird on my cycling adventure. I may have been delirious from the excessive exercise and therefore my intellectual capacity was diminished – considering they are nocturnal and this was the main highway on the west coast…add to that it was extremely tame and allowed me very close to take a photograph…it turned out to be the quite ordinary and very inquisitive ‘weka’ and what has it in common with the kiwi? They’re both birds, and both brown. Well done Barbara.