Along the coastal drive to Punakaiki we thaught we saw a whale at one of the lookouts, there were no questions that it were an animal, and it was way to big to be a seal or dolphin.. it was causing some large splashing, but we didnt see a decent view of its flute come up - so we are still unsure, but it was very big! Further on we arrived at the pancake rocks, some natural rock formations that have formed over thousends and thousends of years (by micro-organisms underneath the water) in a number of layers which looks like pancakes piled on top of eachother. We got some awsome pics with the pancake rocks and the surrounding bays. There was also a lookout with a plaque of a drawing that was done by an artist - showing the individual rocks as objects/animals which they look like (due to erosion), which was pretty clever, the artist sure did have a vivid imagination. The pancake rocks and the backdrop of the beautiful coastal line either side of it was perfect! Unfortunately we werent there for high tide, so we didnt get to see the blowhole fire out water, which is meant to be quite spectacular! But we are running our of days on the South Island and need to keep moving. We moved on up through Westport, famous for its gold mining - and up to Cape Foulwind - a gorgeous bay where we had a coffee and soaked it all in! We moved on up through Murchison to Matueka where we stayed the night at a recommended campsite ran by a lovely English couple. There was no-one else staying there except for us, it was great!! We had the kitchen and communal area all to ourselves, equipped with a log fire and freeview, where we watched The Perfect Storm - a great night of civilisation!!! The couple gave us an awesome itinery for Abel Tasman, and we even had the pleasure of meeting 'Jenny' before we left! She was crazy but ever so cute!! Within 10 minutes she wanted to keep in contact with us, huge us "'cos we're all friends now!", and had advised us if we had any problems then go to the local nunnery for advise on what to do as "they can help you get out of any mess" - i've got to be honest though, it was a real pleasure to have met her as she did have a heart of gold!