Day 31 Motueka to Punakaiki via the Buller River Gorge

We packed up the minibus and drove nearly 2 hours along winding roads to Murchison – one of the main adventure tourism towns….population 490 – 2 cafes, a supermarket, a secondhand shop, a post office, a museum and what seemed a hundred adventure sports companies for rafting, kayaking, horseback riding, helicopters, sky diving….you name it!  We just had coffee as our adventures were still another two hour drive away on the ‘West Coast’.  We followed the impressive Buller River through its gorge, winding again on the narrow highway 6.

We arrived in Punakaiki just after high tide in the Tasman Bay and went straight to Pancake Rocks to see if the waves were gushing through the various blowholes in the strange limestone formations….Unfortunately for us, the Tasman Sea was very calm today – well, for the Tasman Sea, so the effect was a bit subdued though the rock formations themselves were quite spectacular.  We had lunch at the headland and then drove a short distance to the start of the Porari River track.  We walked the path for 3 ½ kilometres as it climbed alongside the river – through beautiful forest and between boulders  - and then reversed our journey to avoid having to walk along the road.  I couldn’t resist climbing down from the path to feel the water…it was warmer than where we swam yesterday!

We then took the short Truman track down to a lovely beach with a waterfall and more of the pancake-like limestone enclosing it on three sides.  I found some green pebbles that sure look like the world famous ‘greenstone’ to me….but Nicole told me that they are just quartz with nickel or copper inclusions…that’s disappointing – but they are still pretty – and very green…..

We checked into our hotel – another lovely one, right on the beach with sea views….and ate together in the hotel restaurant overlooking a beach with yet more of those pancake rocks framing it and then met up again at 9pm to visit the glowworm cave.

Only 4 of us – plus Nicole, of course, went to the cave. We watched the sun set over the Tasman Sea and then, torches in hand, clambered into the cave… It was a little muddy, of course…and we felt a bit crazy as we stood with our eyes adjusting to the dark staring at the ceiling….but then, one by one, little fairy lights became visible and then brighter…in strings and clusters….very cool, indeed. We returned to the hotel an hour later – off to bed, ready for another full-on day tomorrow….