Tara, Weka and the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks

Tara or White Fronted Terns

A weka, a New Zealand flightless bird.

Sealions and pups.

The Punakaiki Pancake Rocks.

Sunday, January 10^th.

My head is peeling badly today after the burn I got on Devonport. It's coming off in strips.

We had a terrific breakfast supplied by the hotel with cereals, fruit, toast and yogurt. Then we boarded the van and headed out towards the west coast of the island. We drove through periods of rain and then sun. We crossed the island via Lewis Pass. The drive was very scenic as we drove through the foothills, through valleys and forests and past cattle farms.

Our first stop on the west coast was at Cape Foulwind. Great name for this place as it was very windy and the ocean was really rough. We were here to take a short hike to see a sealion colony. The first thing I noticed was a flightless bird called a weka. A lot of New Zealand's original birds were flightless because there were no predators here until the Europeans brought possums, stoats, weasels and cats, which decimated the birds. I took a short walk down to the beach and stumbled upon a rookery of Tara or White Fronted Terns. I watched and photographed them before following everyone else to the sealions. The path took us up to a cliff lookout where we could look down on a jumble of rocks. It took a minute to see the sealions as they blended in but became obvious when they moved. There were a good number and a few young pups too.

We continued down the coast until we got to Punakaiki and the Pancake Rocks. This is a unique geographical area where the limestone has been layed down in layers at the bottom of the ocean and then uplifted above the water. Now the ocean is beating on it and eroding it away.

After that we stopped in an old gold mining town called Ross which has the claim of being the first town in the southern hemisphere to have electric street lights. We drove on from there and arrived at Rainforest Retreat in Franz Joseph about 6:00. This is a beautiful hotel consisting of a number of different size and style rooms. Jan Eric and I are in a treehouse room. It is very comfortable and well appointed. We checked in and then went to the local activities centre to check in for our heli-flight tomorrow. Then back to the hotel to try to access the internet (without luck) before regrouping at the hotel restaurant for dinner. I had a great salad full of roasted vegetables. After dinner Jan Eric and I gave our dolphin photos to the other participants. Then back to the room to get a good night's sleep before tomorrow's busy day.