Pancake Rocks - heading to the rugged West Coast

Next, we continued south toward Lake Rotoiti, a beautiful crystal-clear mountain lake that somehow looked like Lake Königssee, only with fewer people. There were already a few people here, as the lake was not far from a town and a main road. There was a simple campground right by the lake where we set up our tent. Unfortunately, everything was a bit muddy, as the rain from the past few days had soaked the ground. But the highlight of the natural challenges were these masses of sandflies. We practically bathed in bug spray, and there were hundreds of these pests sitting under the outer tent... And the next morning, just after we had breakfast, it started raining... or rather pouring! So, we put on our rain gear and helmet over our clothes and rolled up our soaking wet tent.

Now on to the West Coast. Our destination was the campground in the town of Punakaiki right by the sea, to visit the nearby Pancake Rocks the next morning. First, we drove through beautiful but not spectacular scenery, accompanied by various rain showers, along Highway 6 heading west. But what a sight it was when we reached the coast! Cliffs, powerful waves, and diffused light through the thick clouds, it already looked breathtaking. The road was also fun on the motorcycle, nice and curvy, good surface, not too much traffic and no rain, although there were various dark clouds in the sky. And so, of course, on the last stretch before reaching our destination, we got caught in another heavy shower and arrived at the campground completely drenched. Fortunately, there was a simple cabin available, even with a heater. Our clothes only dried halfway, as the humidity was too high due to the rain in the evening and at night, and the entire campground was filled with puddles. Luckily, there was a nice pub just a few meters away, where we spent the evening enjoying good food and a few beers while it was pouring outside.

The next morning, as planned, we visited the Pancake Rocks, and it hardly rained at all during the approximately one-hour walk! An elaborately designed walking path led through the bush and along the coast to give the masses of visitors access to this truly remarkable coastal area. Breathtaking views of these peculiar rocks that look like many thin stone slabs (like pancakes or "Eierkuchen" for Berliners) stacked on top of each other, with rock cuts in between where the waves crash, simply amazing. We have never seen anything like it.