Charleston - Punakaiki - Greymouth - Arthur's Pass

My next major destination from Westport was Punakaiki. However, I made a small stop in Charleston and enjoyed a little stroll at Constant Bay, where I had a great view from the Irimahuwhero Viewpoint overlooking the bays. At least before the Kiwi Explorer bus arrived and unloaded a busload of people. I decided to seek some distance after that.

Punakaiki is renowned for its so-called Pancake Rocks: rock formations that look just like a stack of pancakes. It is supposed to be particularly impressive during high tide and storms, as the water sprays through the many holes in the rocks. Although I specifically went to Punakaiki during high tide, I couldn't influence the weather; it was sunny for me (which I usually prefer, but was impractical for this case).

The last stop was Greymouth, where I did the Point Elisabeth Walkway, highly advertised in the travel guide, which I found quite disappointing. You walk the entire time through the thick brush, and at the destination, Point Elisabeth, there isn't even a particularly impressive view. But perhaps I've just become too spoiled by now...

At night, I realized that I was simply a day too early; it rained heavily all night. I even briefly considered going back to Punakaiki but ultimately decided to stick to my plan of driving over Arthur's Pass to Christchurch.

During my lunch break at Lake Brunner, I met Mr. T., who originally comes from Sri Lanka, has lived in Australia for many years, and is currently spending 17 days on vacation in New Zealand. He apparently comes from a very poor family but managed to study abroad (first in Australia, then in England) - mainly to be able to travel. Now he has a good job - it's incredible what one can achieve when the necessary pressure is there.

I found the viewpoint of the viaduct on the way to Arthur's Pass quite spectacular! The viewpoints at the end of the hikes to Devils Punchbowl Falls and Bridal Veil Falls on Arthur's Pass were okay. With better weather, having seen the snow-capped mountains around, it would have probably been cooler.

The gigantic boulders at Castle Hill struck me as quite spectacular, even though I stopped there rather randomly. During the drive, I had become so tired that I needed to take a small break. And from there, it was only a one-hour drive until I reached Christchurch, where Rainer welcomed me back very nicely.