The Pancake Rocks on the west coast of New Zealand began millions of years ago as the shells of dead marine organisms accumulated, and were pressurized under the weight of water. Later, this sedimentary rock was uplifted through seismic activity. Once exposed, the softer layers eroded from wind and wave action leaving the harder layers behind, in a distinctive pattern and fascinating forms.
Depending on the tides, there are blow holes, but we didn’t catch them on our visit. This is a relatively new park, less than forty years old, and the Dept. of Conservation (DOC) has done a really nice job with the boardwalks, viewpoints, and visitors center.
Next we headed off for a tramp (hike) along a track (trail) in the bush (forest) that was originally laid by Māori, then miners, and now part of the park.
We’re getting to know the plants a little better, and we try to learn an English common name, a Māori common name, and a scientific name for them. Mark is more successful at this than I am. He gave impromptu field botany talks along our way today. We are lucky to have a group that loves plants. I quite liked the stump of an old tree fern (probably black fern, Wheki ?, Cyathea medullaris). The dark spongy part is old leaf (frond) stalks. The center, that looks like the disc from an vintage View-master, is the vascular tissue that would have transported water and food up and down the trunk-like stem.
Our picnic lunch was accompanied by the charming and not so charming:
I’ll keep the orchid, but think the weka needs to learn some manners when approaching picnickers!
At the end, there was a bar and cafe and some enjoyed a beer– even when I’m not drinking having fellow hikers sipping on beer adds to the experience.
We returned to Greymouth for dinner and another night’s sleep.
