Seals, Canoes and Pancakes

Saturday 23

Started the day with a visit to a Fur Seal Colony at Tauranga Bay- over 100 seals and pups. Very smelly. The colony is at Cape Foulwind named by James Cook after he was stranded offshore by a raging storm in 1770. No sign of bad weather today. We were adopted by a Weka, a flightless bird a bit like a kiwi but no so shy. Stopped at a deerted, rugged beach pounded by huge coasters, spent a happy hour collecting driftwood and interesting stones.
On our list of 'want to do's was canoeing or kayaking, Oliver especially, and at Punakaiki we found a place hiring out canoes so we togged up and paddled energetically up river. Outstanding landscape- huge granite cliffs with rainforest edging the river, clear waters, little sandy or pebbly beaches. The paddling was very hard work and we'll ache tomorrow (having ony just got over the riding aches and pains!)
The famous pancake rocks at Punakaiki were only a 5 min drive away so that was our next stop. A weathering and layering process (stylobedding, apparently) means that the limestone rocks look like giant stacks of pancakes.
Camping tonight at Hokitika, next to the beach, the children now completely barefoot and feral, are in their element.