I was on a bus from Greymouth to Nelson
in January, 2004 when the bus driver pulled
over to allow the passengers a break in
a rest station. The bus driver urged us
to walk across the road to the Paparoa
Nation Park which is home to the Pancake
Rocks and blowholes, but warned of dire
consequences if we did not return to the
bus in ten minutes. So I hurried along
a trail though a short woods to the edge
of cliffs that descend rapidly to the sea.
The limestone rocks at the waters edge have
been weathered to resemble an immense stack
of giant pancakes created by stylobedding,
a chemical process in which the pressure of
overlying sediments creates alternating durable
and weaker bands. The stacks of rocks are undermined
by huge caverns where incoming waves may send
spumes of water sprouting up through blowholes.
Unfortunately, the blowholes require high swells
in order to work and we had arrived at low
tide. But, I was quite pleased with this photograph
of the pancake rocks which is one of my favorites
from New Zealand. I even managed to get back
to the bus before it left without me. |
