We grab a coffee from Donaldo’s and then have a nose at the aptly named Carters Beach in Carters Beach before reaching Cape Foulwind

Here is a colony of NZ seals which has a walkway to take you to a viewpoint of them where you’re well out of their way – there are so many pups!

On the way out, there’s also a lot of wekas – these are the birds people often mistake for kiwis

Next up is Punakaiki where we stop for lunch

We share a Hawaiian pizza, at Pancake Rocks Cafe, before exploring the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes Track

The sea doesn’t seem to be strong enough to cause the blowhole to be in full swing but it’s hard to miss the “pancake rocks” as they’re known as

We drive through Greymouth next and this is home to the brewery of Monteith’s

It would be rude not to pop in and try – we share a three glass taster including the original ale, their pilsner and the apple cider

After this, we quickly pop through Hokitika to check into our hotel for tonight and straight onto Hokitika Gorge (which is actually in Kokatahi)

There’s a nice walk that takes you across a swing bridge and to a sort of beach where you can swim if you dare to bare the cold water and strong currents

Next, we drive back to Hokitika to get some dinner

We go for our usual order at the Korath Thai Cuisine restaurant

After this, we wander around the town and see what else is on offer

One of the attractions here is the town’s name constructed of driftwood on the shore

Following this, we have a little time to kill so we pop by Stumpers Bar & Cafe to share a jug of beer while Dave beats Daisy at pool and then take a walk along the beach to get to the Glow Worm Dell

This is a little walk up a small incline where glow worms have lined themselves along the sides of a canyon

There were also a couple possums – this is the first time we’ve seen them in New Zealand not as roadkill!

On the way back to where we’re staying to get some rest, we also get a lovely sighting of a hoglet (a baby hedgehog)