Pancake Rocks, Punakaiki, West Coast, New Zealand.

© Shaycobs/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Pancake Rocks

Top choice


Punakaiki's claim to fame is Dolomite Point, where a layering-weathering process called stylobedding has carved the limestone into what looks like piles of thick pancakes. 

Aim your visit for high tide (tide timetables are posted at the visitor centre, or look them up online). If the swell and wind are cooperating, the sea surges into caverns and booms menacingly through blowholes. See it on a wild day and be reminded that nature really is the boss.

Pancake Rocks geology

The foundations of the Pancake Rocks were formed 30 million years ago. Fragments of plants and marine life solidified into layers. Seismic movements lifted the limestone above the seabed, then over time the rocks have weathered by wind, rain and sea spray, eroding the softer layers, leaving behind the stacks you see today.

Pancake Rocks walk 

Allow 20 minutes for the straightforward (1.1km) walk, which loops from the highway out to the rocks and blowholes. Make that at least 40 minutes if you want to take photos. Part of the trail is suitable for wheelchairs. Keep children close by, especially at the end of the walk when it approaches the highway.

 


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Mitchells Gully Goldmine

16.97 MILES

For a true taste of the region’s gold-mining past, swing into this former mine, 3km north of Charleston. You'll get a friendly primer on the 1860s mining…

2. Formerly the Blackball Hilton

17.71 MILES

Blackball's major talking point is this century-old pub, once known as the Dominion. When it was renamed in the 1990s, a certain global hotel chain got…

4. Left Bank Art Gallery

23.75 MILES

A wide community of West Coast artists is represented in this former bank, which displays contemporary NZ prints, paintings, photographs, jewellery and…

5. History House Museum

23.82 MILES

When we passed through, this pictorial museum of Greymouth's gold rush days was closed indefinitely, to allow the handsome 1924 building to undergo…

6. Monteith’s Brewing Co

24.2 MILES

The original Monteith's brewhouse is the HQ for this nationally famous beer brand: glossy and a wee bit corporate, but it delivers a high-quality…

7. Reefton Distilling Co.

27.51 MILES

Every gold-rush town needs a still, and Reefton's got a goodie in the form of this operation that makes use of foraged botanicals and spring water sourced…

8. Bearded Mining Company

27.6 MILES

Looking like a ZZ Top tribute band, the straight-talkin', bearded fellas at this recreated high-street mining hut rollick your socks off with tales tall…