3-4 hours southwest of Nelson lies Punakaiki, a tourist village dedicated to the pancake rocks, as well as some surfing beaches during summer. We are staying at an incredibely nice hostel just on the beach, but this time, contrary to Mexico, the temperature was comfortable to sleep with windows closed and even a soft duvet on! The place, run by some germans, is all new with a well equipped kitchen and benches on the terrace. We leave our stuff in the room and head immediately to the rocks which lie a mere 400 meters stroll away. This stretch of the west coast is indeed pretty amazing. The rocks are steep and the waves incredibly loud and powerful. The view from the top of the road is stunning.

A short walk through the bush from the road brings us to the edge of the cliff made of pancake rock, alternating layers of sand and mudstone, the columns indeed look like stacks of pancakes! It is not entirely clear how the layers formed, but they sure look peculiar. After finishing viewing the rocks we move on towards the Truman track, a few kilometers north. Arriving at the beach after a nice walk through dense jungle you get a fantastic view of the west coast. The sun is really helping the scenery, but the nature itself down here is something special! We walk a few steps down along a deserted (by penguins) beach where the water has carved the rocks into all sorts of shapes, from stripes to holes.

We are back to the hotel just in time for a snack, a hot tea and then down to the beach for a red sunset.

The morning after we catch a bus to Greymouth, which we decide to skip, and instead head directy to Christchurch on the east cost. We arrive in time to catch a shuttle bus which cross the whole country via the Arthur mountain pass. As we approach the pass the weather turns more winterish, we see a bit of snow on the side of the road and when we get off the bus for a coffee break, afterall…it’s winter here!

The weather is definitely deteriorating while we approach Christchurch, and the rain is indeed pouring down when we get off the bus. We are looking for a place to stay and everything is really expensive around here, we guess it’s somehow related to the big earthquake 2 years ago. The following morning we try to get down to the city center, but we didn’t realize that the whole center is still under reconstruction, the museums are closed, the galleries, the cathedral and the heart of town. Some local shops which have been destroyed are temporarely relocated to a little container village. Well I have to say that no matter what, they have done a great job to give back to people what they deserve. The containers are modern, all full of colors, with perfect services and clean. They just look like some very fancy and creative shops! From the cultural point of view, though, the city is suffering and has very little to offer at the moment. We wish a full recovery to Christchurch and its people.