Pancake Rocks and Blowholes, Punakaiki

From the car park opposite the visitor centre, cross SH6 at the marked crossing and enter the paved track. Keep left round the southern end of the loop, then follow the seaward side north past the layered pancake stacks to Chimney Pot and the Putai Blowhole viewpoint; Sudden Sound is a few metres off the path. Take the short stepped section past the Surge Pool up to the northern end, then return along the inland side through coastal bush to the highway crossing.

It is 1.3 km round with 16 m of ascent; allow about half an hour. The grade is Easy: a paved path with one short stepped section, which a link path avoids.

The blowholes are at their best around high tide with a south-westerly swell. Stay on the path and behind the barriers: climbing on the rocks is unsafe and disturbs nesting birds and rare plants. The return path comes out suddenly at the highway, so keep children close. The stacks are limestone laid down in hard and soft layers about 30 million years ago.

DOC charges for the car park: $2.50 a half hour or $20 a day, by card, with stays under 10 minutes free. Punakaiki is on SH6, 44 km north of Greymouth and 57 km south of Westport; check coach timetables if travelling without a car.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.