After leaving Fox River Cave we continued south down the coastal highway towards Hokitika. As the road snaked through the dense bush we would occasionally be able to looked out to the west over the ocean where we could see that the weather front that had been forecast for the weekend was starting to arrive and the swells were starting to build. It seemed that our chance timing would work to our advantage and so we decided to make a quick stop at Punakaiki / Pancake Rocks to see if the ocean was high enough for the blowholes.
As we made our way along the short track it was hard to hear the ocean among the dense vegetation. Eventually the trees thinned and we could see the stacked rocks that give this area its English name – Pancake Rocks.
Looking out over the area we were surprised to see a cloud of sea spray coming out of the rocks just beside us, it seemed that the tide and weather had aligned and we were in for a good show. The small blowhole next to the path put on an impressive, but somewhat irregular performance, but it was overshadowed by the booms and rumbles coming from a huge cavern like area behind us.
As we made our way over to this larger area, we could literally feel the ground shake as the waves would get forced into this almost square sided pool. Occasionally a couple of waves would seem to get trapped between the steep walls and bounce back and forth echoing of the rocks. The sight and sound of the waves booming around the pool was mesmerising, but eventually we tore ourselves away and headed back to the highway so that we could get to our campground for the night.
We knew that this section of road held one last surprise for us, the one-lane, combined road and rail bridge over the Taramakau River. Having driven this road before on a previous holiday in New Zealand we were slightly less shocked and ready for this engineering marvel!
Despite knowing that this truly was the only way across the river on what is the main highway along the west coast of New Zealand, nothing quite prepares you for this view out of the windscreen. The narrow bridge, with train tracks up the middle is quite a sight when seen from the cab of the campervan! Luckily traffic, both cars and trains, was light and we were able to head across and make our way to our campsite in Goldsborough for the night.