Parked last night on the side of a road next to an historical marker a hour or so north of Franz Josef off of Hwy 6. Just as I was getting down the road, I was flagged to the side in order to make way for the herd of cattle coming by. They were at least they were going in the opposite direction and passed fairly quickly, so it didn't take long. I stopped in Hokitka to see some historical clock tower.
Just outside of town I came across a combination single-lane highway/railroad bridge. Not only does a vehicle have to watch out for oncoming traffic, but also trains! Most of the bridges in New Zealand were single lane, due in part to a lack of serious traffic I suppose and the general shortness of the spans, usually only a hundred meters or so. Although there are quite a few in the world (
list), it is still unusual enough to be interesting.
After the interesting bridge, it was on to
Punakaiki Pancake Rocks. The Pancake Rocks at Dolomite Point south of the main village are a heavily eroded limestone area where the sea bursts though a number of vertical blowholes during high tides. Though this was the one time on the trip when my timing was off (having just missed high tide by a couple of hours) it was still a neat view and I was able to see some of the blowholes in action. After the pancake rocks, I stopped by a nearby cavern, however at some point in the trip I had lost my light, so could not go in too far and also had to stop near the entrance of Fox River cave that was supposed to be open access. I really wouldn't have been able to go too far anyway if I didn't have another two sources of light, but it was a nice walk and I did get a glimpse inside. I finished off the evening near Westport for fuel and food and saw a bit of the moonrise over the mountains before heading towards Arthurs' Pass National Park.
Parked last night on the side of a road next to an historical marker a hour or so north of Franz Josef off of Hwy 6. Just as I was getting down the road, I was flagged to the side in order to make way for the herd of cattle coming by. They were at least they were going in the opposite direction and passed fairly quickly, so it didn't take long. I stopped in Hokitka to see some historical clock tower. 
Just outside of town I came across a combination single-lane highway/railroad bridge. Not only does a vehicle have to watch out for oncoming traffic, but also trains! Most of the bridges in New Zealand were single lane, due in part to a lack of serious traffic I suppose and the general shortness of the spans, usually only a hundred meters or so. Although there are quite a few in the world (list), it is still unusual enough to be interesting. 
After the interesting bridge, it was on to Punakaiki Pancake Rocks. The Pancake Rocks at Dolomite Point south of the main village are a heavily eroded limestone area where the sea bursts though a number of vertical blowholes during high tides. Though this was the one time on the trip when my timing was off (having just missed high tide by a couple of hours) it was still a neat view and I was able to see some of the blowholes in action. After the pancake rocks, I stopped by a nearby cavern, however at some point in the trip I had lost my light, so could not go in too far and also had to stop near the entrance of Fox River cave that was supposed to be open access. I really wouldn't have been able to go too far anyway if I didn't have another two sources of light, but it was a nice walk and I did get a glimpse inside. I finished off the evening near Westport for fuel and food and saw a bit of the moonrise over the mountains before heading towards Arthurs' Pass National Park.
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