Pancake Rocks and Blowholes

I'd heard about Pancake Rocks through another travel blog and thought we could come and visit on route back up through the South Island. Located 40 minutes north of Greymouth, the Pancake Rocks are these remarkable limestone formations that were created about 30 million years ago. The Punakaiki Pancake Rocks were created when the sea bed was raised above sea level by earthquakes to form the coastal cliffs and coastline. The sea, rain and wind have since eroded the rocks to create the unique formations that look like a stack of pancakes. However, geologists can’t quite comprehend why the limestone decided to stack up on top of each other in pancake-like layers.

When conditions are right, the ocean swells into the cabins beneath the rocks blasting the water high up into the air through the blow holes.

There is a great 20 min loop walk around the formations or if you've got a little more time the half day walk is a great way to see the natural beauty of the Paparoa National Park.

The park and surrounding cool-climate rainforest area is populated by the tall Niaku Palm, NZ’s only native palm tree. The trees produce these strange-looking berries/fruit, which the Maori used to eat. The Naiku’s leaves also were used to wrap food for cooking and to make baskets and waterproof thatch for buildings.


We decided to stay the night in the tiny, seaside village of Punakaiki, which means “a spring of food” in Maori. We had a 5-hour drive the next day, so this seemed like a good spot to linger. Punakaiki is only about a 10-minute walk from the Pancake Rocks. I enjoyed visiting the Pancake Rocks on the west coast as we were passing through, so if you do go by, I would recommend stopping here to see the rugged coast and the beautiful rock formations.