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Pancake Rocks

Punakaiki Caverns

September 30, 2020 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

When we took our visitors to Pancake Rocks a week ago, we also went to Punakaiki Caverns. This is a cave just down the hill from Pancake Rocks. Gayle and all the children have been there many times, but I had never been inside. It was delightful to be able to go into a cave without a guide and just look around!

Esther is headed into the entrance to the cave, at the base of this cliff.28-IMG_680741-IMG_6808

Going in!49-IMG_680954-IMG_6810

There are several levels to the cave. The boys went up to the upper levels. I did not.

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This is another opening, but to use it as an exit requires climbing up this cliff, then clambering down one equally steep, on the outside!

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I went around this corner, to a lower level. There were a few stalactites here and there, but mostly just damp sandstone.30-IMG_6813

Here are some of the best stalactites.

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Miss Joy thought it was pretty fun to touch the walls and ceiling!53-IMG_6815

Three of our boys headed much deeper into the cave than anyone else. I got pictures from Mr. Diligence’s memory card.

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See Simon’s coat? By the time the three boys emerged, he was completely covered, from head to toe, with that cave-smelling sand. I should have gotten a photo of them when they came out, but I didn’t think of it till after they had scrubbed off in the sea.

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While we were at Punakaiki, we stopped at a gift shop, and this giant croc was there. Miss Joy fit into it!27-IMG_6806

Filed Under: Away From Home Tagged With: Caving, Pancake Rocks

Pancake Rocks

September 21, 2020 by NZ Filbruns 2 Comments

We had visitors over the weekend, and since we noticed last week that there was to be a king tide this weekend, we thought it would be a good time to go to Pancake Rocks again! The extra-high tide, we figured, should make for a decent show at the blowholes. We were not disappointed! It wasn’t as good as a couple of other times we’ve been there, but lots better than several times. I apologize in advance if this is too many photos for you. It was a beautiful day… and three of us were taking pictures… and I only saved the best from each of the three memory cards… but there ended up being so many beautiful photos I couldn’t decide which ones to leave out!

The waves were fairly high. I love watching them roll in past the rocks!

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The first blowhole we reach is the Chimney Pot. It is spectacular—just like I would imagine a geyser looks! This time, there was a rainbow formed in the mist, when you stood at the right place.

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Esther carried Miss Joy for a good part of the way. 50-IMG_6764

51-IMG_6765This is the largest blowhole. We stood here for a long time, watching the water spurting up into a fantastic fountain!

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17-IMG_678635-IMG_6787I love watching the water in the Surge Pool, too! It’s so wild.

40-IMG_679044-IMG_6791The waves hitting these rocks are spectacular, too!

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See the seagulls nesting on top of the rocks?

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Notice the people on the bridge in the background, just in front of the Chimney Pot blowhole? That might help you get a feel for the scale of this place.52-IMG_6796

By the time we reached this viewing platform, Miss Joy wanted to get down and walk around by herself.

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26-IMG_679964-IMG_4215Simon took her, but she wanted to pick things up.

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A bunch of the boys broke off flax stalks and had a mock sword fight with them.56-IMG_6802

They gave one stick to Miss Joy. 57-IMG_6803

She was delighted with, and ran around brandishing it, until…

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…she suddenly spotted some flowers! She recognized them; I often pick a few in our yard and give them to her. The stick was instantly discarded, and she got down to pick them.

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Simon picked her up again, and held the stick behind her back. She reached around and got it, then started whacking him on the head with it.

59-IMG_6805This was a wonderful day to be outside! It’s the rainy time of year here, and in the week before this day, we had had 1 1/2 sunny days. It was great to be outside, enjoying such a beautiful part of God’s creation.

Here is a five minute video I put together from a lot of shorter clips, to give you a little bit of our experience. One clip, which starts at about 3:22, doesn’t have much action, but I loved the happy baby noises that can be heard.

Filed Under: Away From Home Tagged With: Pancake Rocks, Video

Buller Gorge and Pancake Rocks

January 12, 2020 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

The Sunday after Christmas, we went to church in Reefton. We had a friend with us, a young woman whose family we spend a lot of time with. She had never been to Pancake Rocks, so we decided to take her there. Since we were in Reefton, we drove to the coast via the Buller Gorge, which she had also never been through. We hadn’t been through there in several years, either, so it was fun to see that beautiful place again.

There is some farmland along the Buller, where the valley widens out enough. The colors were so vivid that day!

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This place is always fun to see, where a single lane has been carved out of the highway. It may be hard to believe, looking at this picture, but about a month or a month and a half ago, when we had a lot of rain, the level of the water was up to the road there at the cut-out! I saw a picture online of the floodwaters swirling around the guardrail. 04-IMG_292305-IMG_292506-IMG_292607-IMG_292808-IMG_293309-IMG_2935

We stopped at a roadside picnic table to eat lunch, and went down to the river. See how the grass is laid over, way above the level of the water? That’s where the water was, when the river was in flood!10-IMG_2936

There was a small, beautiful creek there.11-IMG_293712-IMG_293913-IMG_294014-IMG_294115-IMG_294416-IMG_294617-IMG_294818-IMG_2950

When we reached Westport, we turned south and drove along the coast. This was the first time I’ve ever seen the mountains along this route; the other times we went through there, they were covered in clouds. 19-IMG_295320-IMG_2956

There was no action in the blowholes at Pancake Rocks, since the sea was so calm. We got some good family pictures, though! Here I am with my beautiful daughters.21-IMG_2967

Unfortunately, we chose too shady a spot for our family picture. We’ll have to try again another time.22-IMG_2971

The Nikau palms were in bloom.23-IMG_2976

We got a picture of Gayle with our handsome (?—look at Simon!) sons.24-IMG_2978

The second (or third or fourth) try went better. What clowns!25-IMG_298126-IMG_2986

The next day, before our friend went home, the children walked with her down to where the Ahaura and the Grey rivers come together.27-IMG_2991

Filed Under: Away From Home Tagged With: Buller Gorge, Pancake Rocks, Riverbed

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The Family:


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Esther, my right hand

Boy #1, Seth (Mr. Handyman)

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