My northward trek up the west coast continued, with Greymouth the next stop. I had read that this place was in its death throes and from what I saw I think that may be right. The most exciting thing I saw were the waves crashing with ferocious force over the end of the breakwater. Apparently there is a sand bar just out from the breakwater which has caused much loss of life over the years as evidenced by the many plaques commemorating those who have died. Other than that there's not much to write about. But the coast drive continued to amaze. Just north of Greymouth at Punakaiki are the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes. The rock is in layers, which makes it look like a stack of pancakes. Scientists are not sure what has caused this, but the ocean forces on the rocks have created a network of amazing formations, caves and blowholes. The sea was running and the display it was putting on was incredible. Probably some of the best blowhole activity I have ever seen. North from here the coast line simply continued to put on its show. Pounding surf, towering cliffs and snaking its way between the two a strip of bitumen. My base for the next few days was Westport, in a house owned by a friend. It was nice to be able have my own space and some home cooked meals for change. Westport and the surrounding area was pretty much built on coal, however that is dying out these days. But as a result, Westport is quite a well established town. North of Westport is a place called Karamea - famous or probably 3 things. It is literally at the end of the road, it's the start of the Heaphy Track-a highly regarded multi day walk and the Oparara Basin which has some of the biggest limestone arches in the Southern Hemisphere. The largest of these is the Oparara Arch which is 37 metres high and 200 metres long. Situated deep in the bush and with a small stream running through it, it really is a spectacular sight. The rainforest here was beautiful, as was the smaller Moria Gate Arch. On the way to this arch a native flightless bird called a weka popped out of the bush onto the track. These birds seem to have no fear of humans and he was quite happy scavenging around for food whilst I took a few photos. It seems that no matter where you go in NZ you will never be far from a seal or penguin colony - and Westport is no different. About a 10 minute drive from town, on a rocky headland, there was a colony of seals including some relatively young pups. It seems to be a life of sleeping and eating - pretty simple really! Leaving Westport I headed up through the Buller Valley (I'm still captivated by the river valleys in NZ) toward the north coast for what will be my last week in the South Is. And whilst the weather has been fairly kind to me, hopefully I am heading into some warmer temperatures.