Emerging from underground, part two of the day was the remainder of the coast drive to the overnight destination, the historical gold-rush town of Hokitika.

Heading south along coastal Route 6 the water is on our right with the sun racing towards the horizon. Still there time to stop and try to absorb the sights and sounds of the surf.

On the way to Hokitika, the limestone cliffs eventually reach over to the sea at a place called the Pancake Rocks near Punakaiki. It’s the sea that has done all the work wearing away the stacked layers of soft limestone until there are formations that look like this:

What images might appear in the next formations?

Natural bridges have even been created, which are part of the access walkways through the formations.

Surf and sunset continues to take our focus away from the road and we arrive in Hokitika with some daylight to spare, our last stop on the NZ west coast.

Tomorrow brings a side trip to Hokitika Gorge and then the trip east up over the mountain and through Arthurs Pass.

We had a New Zealander on the dive boat in Cairns that said “the west is the best” and we certainly would agree.