Pancake Rocks

Overview

The Pancake Rocks formed over millions of years through an alternating process of deposition and erosion — thin layers of marine sediment and softer material stacked up, then differentially weathered so the harder, sturdier layers remain while the soft layers erode away, leaving the distinctive layered, pancake-like appearance.

A network of blowholes formed by the same erosion sends spray dramatically upward when a swell pushes water into the caverns beneath the rocks at high tide — a genuinely different experience depending on the sea conditions on the day you visit.

Things To Do

• Pancake Rocks loop walk — an easy 20-minute loop track with viewing platforms over the rocks and blowholes.
• Blowhole viewing — best experienced at high tide with a swell running, when the spray is most dramatic.
• Dolomite Point — the headland the rock formations sit on, with coastal views along the Punakaiki coastline.
• Punakaiki beaches — several short walks to nearby beaches and the Pororari River mouth.
• Cafés and visitor centre — a small visitor centre at Punakaiki with information on the wider Paparoa National Park.

Getting There

Punakaiki is on State Highway 6, about 45 minutes' drive north of Greymouth or an hour south of Westport. There's a car park directly at the Pancake Rocks walk entrance.

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Nearby Attractions

Pororari River Track

A scenic riverside walk through limestone gorge and nikau palm forest nearby.

Hokitika Gorge

A strikingly turquoise glacial river gorge, about an hour's drive south.

Franz Josef Glacier

One of the world's most accessible glaciers, further south along the coast.

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