Rocky Pancakes!

Our week at Pohara soon came to an end and it was off down the rugged west coast of the South Island..destination Punakaiki and the famous Pancake rocks. The weather was gorgeous but I don't think the tide was particularly high so we didn't see the rocks in their full glory. It was still impressive though. The limestone rocks have been sculpted by the sea and unusual erosion. There are also fun little blow holes and rocks that look like animals (can you spot the lion??!).
We stayed at this crazy hostel in Punakaiki (poo on a car key!). It was in the middle of the "bush" and had a record player with a sumptuous collection of classic records. I don't think Rich, Kath and Rosie appreciated this quite as much as me! The shack was just a small walk from the coast and we managed to get down to the sea just before the sunset..great pictures to be had!! The other bonus with this wood shack/hostel was the fresh muffin breakfast that Rich went to buy in the morning. Great fun!

Golden Bay

This is going to be a whistle stop tour of the South Island. I promised to myself that I would at least complete the NZ experience. I think I would like to continue it beyond NZ (is there life after NZ I am wondering?!?) but let's wait and see.
From Nelson we headed North to Golden Bay and the Sand fly capital of New Zealand! We were glad to be joined by Rich, Kath and Amelie in Pohara. The Johnsons found this great 4 bed bach with enough room for all of us to enjoy. We had a great time together. The highlight of this part of the excursion had to be the taxi boat ride around the Abel Tasman National Park from Kaiteriteri to Tonga Bay. Not only was the scenery incredible but we were joined by about 200 dolphins for the trip. This is where Rosie managed to win the "photo of the Amess NZ year" competition!
The only down side to the time in Pohara was that it rained a fair amount. Totaranui was our favourite beach. Rosie and I made full use of staying with the Johnsons by going out to a great local restaurant called "The Penguin". It was a great time together as families in the same house.