Te Ana Puta May 28

Loaded with all relevant maps and a tide chart, I checked out a cave near Greymouth called Te Ana Puta, "Cave of Escape Holes" in Maori. I ended up climbing down the Bent Pot entrance and following my senses down the muddy dip slope passage to the back of the sea cave chamber for which this cave is famous. A passage leads to the top of a 20m by 20m chamber with a narrow opening to the sea with a frothy, turbulent surge pool attacking the cliffs below you. I made sure to be there at high tide for maximum effect (although the swell could have been higher). What a special place. It was a total sensory overload. The sea pulses in and out the small entrance with voracious intensity. Each time a wave reaches the entrance it fills it, causing the light in the chamber to dim down to just the light filtering through the water. The waves hit an overhanging cliff below the overlook, causing the rocks and air to reverberate as a heart-palpitating boom fills the room and abuses ear drums. Occasionally, a large wave would splash as high as the viewing passage. It would be a sobering place during a heavy swell. Other stops were made at Pancake Rocks and Punakaiki Cavern before driving on to Bullock Creek.

Back to the primordial forest. I absolutely love this scenery- thick beech forests draped in mosses and tree ferns on cliffs of blue limestone. Bullock Creek is eerie- a huge gorge with a bone-dry river bed in one of the wettest places on Earth. The reason is that Bullock Creek has been pirated by Cave Creek to the south via a complex and very active cave system. The water sinks underground and resurfaces over a kilometer to the south.

I have found that my student motorhome works exceedingly well when no sandflies are present. Essentially I leave the back door open and trick the sensor into thinking the door is closed so that I don't wear down the car battery. Then a custom duct-taped tarp is draped over the back and secured to the frame of the car using bungee cords. With the back seats down I can very comfortably sleep on my 4 inch thick foam pad, while my gear conveniently fits underneath the back door.




Pancake Rocks


Bullock Creek swamp


The student motorhome