Unveiling the Hidden Gem of Punaikaki: A Nature Lover’s Paradise

This post is part of my New Zealand trip series. To learn more about the trip as a whole, check out my previous post: How we Planned a Three Week Trip to New Zealand with a Five Month Old.

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Copyright Kelsey Andriot Purcell. Do not use without permission.

General Thoughts

This was another incredible location on the New Zealand West Coast. While planning this trip, we quickly realized that this was just a small national park. Because it was so small, there must not be a whole lot to see. So, Matt and I did not have very high expectations for the pancake rocks or Paparoa National Park. Upon arrival, we were both very surprised by the pure beauty of this location. Even the Pancake Rocks ended up being the highlights of our stay here in Punaikaki. Both Matt and I wish we were able to spend more time in Punaikaki.

When we were doing our research for our trip to New Zealand, we were not expecting to see a whole lot here. In fact (if anything) we were expecting this to be nothing but hype. However, I can honestly say that we were very pleasantly surprise with the incredible sites. The photos of the pancake rocks we found online do not do these incredible sites any justice. We loved this nature walk.

Here are other nature walks that we did while we were there:

Cave Creek Memorial Track

Pororari River tracks

Punakaiki Cavern

Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and Blowholes Walk

Truman Track

Accommodation (Te Nikau Retreat – Te Ruru):

Like our experience in Waitomo, this accommodation was a little Spartan. However, the accommodation was clean had nice hot water. We stayed in a hostel. Our room could have easily have fit 3-4 people. Anyone who is traveling on a budget or who is backpacking through the country would easily find this stay very comfortable. It is also worth noting that, our room was very warm and cozy. I say this because the two half days that we were in Punakaiki, there was a very cold blustery wind coming from the sea. Matt, baby and I were all chilled to the bone by the time we decided to settle in and chill in our room.

Paparoa National Park is more of a resort type of town. As a result, many of the accommodations in the area were priced a little higher than we wanted to spend. Furthermore, we were only spending one night here in Paparoa. So we were willing to spend less and rough it in a local hostel.

Like the experiences in many of our other hotels. We came to find that inspite of the more rustic nature of our stay. The hostel was very clean and tidy. It was exactly what we needed for one night.