Cape Foulwind, Pancake Rocks and Arthurs Pass - South Island New Zealand Holiday Guides.
As we continued our holiday in New Zealand our next stage took us from Motueka via Cape Foulwind to see some seals, then along the West Coast via Punakaiki to look at Pancake Rocks before driving on up to Arthurs Pass.
Cape Foulwind. Aptly named - at least it was so the day we
were there as our pictures will show - this actually was a really nice area to visit and it was great to see some seals.
Overlooking the Tasman Sea Cape Foulwind is located on a headland on the West
Coast of South Island, New Zealand. Leaving Westport on the SH67 after the road
crosses the river and at a junction take the SH67a (Cape Foulwind Rd) - it is
around 12.5km southwest of Westport. Tauranga Bay at the Cape is the home to a fur seal breeding colony.
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Pancake Rocks - South Island, Punakaiki. These rocks are located on the West Coast at Punakaiki on the SH6 around 56km south of Westpoint. There is a really large parking area and information centre alongside the road and to get to Pancake Rocks is just a question of crossing the road and following a marked path. There are in fact several paths you can pick depending on how much time and how far you want to walk but the whole circuit takes about 30 or so minutes. The rocks were created by bands of limestone separated by thinner layers of mudstone all of which have been worn away over millions of years to create the "pancake" look. When the tide is high or during really heavy swell the pressure causes the sea to be forced out through blowholes in the rocks. |
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Located in South Island - New Zealand Arthur's Pass carries State Highway 73 over the Southern Alps to provide a road link between Greymouth and Christchurch. The road between Arthur's Pass and Otira has the really impressive 440 metre long Otira Viaduct - as you drive through the scenery is magnificent. The Midland Line goes through Arthurs Pass - creating a rail link over the Great Divide between the West Coast and Christchurch. The Otira Tunnel starts from Arthurs Pass - the tunnel runs for around 8.5km and in places has a gradient of 1 in 33. The township has a limited amount of accommodation including a camp site, although it would appear that some development might be taking or starting to take place - they certainly have built a very large impressive washroom and toilet facility and a new well laid out car park by the railway line. The Township has a small general store and cafe/restaurant, a Dept of Conservation Office plus the railway station. We found that there were several walks you could easily do from Arthurs Pass itself - also if you head over towards Bealey Spur - where you get fabulous views of the river and mountains - you can find one or two bits to wander around as well. |
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Note about driving to and from the Pass - the road up to the Pass from the West Coast is really just a gradually increasing climb but the road has few bends and you in a way don't notice you are particularly climbing. However the drive back from Arthurs Pass towards the West Coast is a different matter - you are really aware of the descent - especially the first part. The trucks do engage their bottom gear and crawl down - even in a car you do have to be really careful and take it very easy.
Walks around Arthur's Pass area.
The Devil's Punchbowl Falls and Bridal Veil Walk. The
Devil's Punchbowl is quite a short walk of about 30 or so minutes and takes you
up to a viewing platform by a nice waterfall and it's other feature is the huge amount of steps you have to
climb up to get to the Falls - there must be 100's of them. The path leaves from
the south of the town and is clearly marked - you cross the Otari River and
follow the path through trees - the path as mentioned climbs considerably by use
of wooden steps. You have to return the same way of course.
If you want to have a bit more walking then the
Bridal Veil Walk is just right
- this takes you on a really nice path with hardly any steps - you go through
woodland as the sometimes stoney path climbs easily upwards into the hills.
Having crossed several plank bridges you come to a view point where apart from
the waterfall you also get great views of the mountains.
You can continue on the path but this does just take you onto the Otira road and means a walk back on
tarmac. We thought a much better option was to simply return the way we had come.
Bealey Spur - Turkey Flats. Considering how high up in the
mountains you are it is surprising in a way how flat this area is - the river is
really wide at Turkey Flats and you can see for a long way across to the mountains and forest.
We parked close by the bridge and with the railway line nearbye - there is a fairly large car park here. All we did was cross the road
and go ahead on a track which eventually met up with the main flow of the river - walking around here is very
stoney underfoot and really decent boots were quite necessary.
You just walk along as far as you want - the further you go the more times you may have to cross a variety of small streams and it is important that you should consider the weather as the river can rise very quickly.
You have to return back the same way of course but this is a pleasant,
peaceful and scenic walk especially with the river, mountains and flowers to enjoy for an hour to two.
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