The hikes and sites along the west coast must be thought out and planned ahead of time; many are only accessible when the tide is low, while others only ‘put on a show’ during high tide. Though it meant driving a bit in circles, we followed the tide to pack in as much as possible. I know, big surprise.

First stop, Truman Track, an easy 30 minute hike that opened up to a beautiful rocky beach with nicely carved out cliffs and waterfalls. There were a lot of very smooth pieces of driftwood, one resembling a longhorn.
      
      

NZ’s attempt to capture unwanted furry things

Second stop, across the old Fox Creek Bridge to an even older Maori cave, which also opened up to spectacular ocean views.
      
      
      

Last stop on the coast was the Punakaiki (pancake rock) blowholes. While the rocks are pretty cool looking, I was slightly unimpressed by the ocean spray (or lack thereof) coming up through the blowholes.
      

It was then time to start on our way back across the South Island to Christchurch. The highway followed the transcontinental railroad route, through the mountains along windy, cliff-top roads. Ryan did a great job manuevering the campervan!