wild dinner

the puké pub features an exciting menu of all wild game dishes. we
were quite excited to try the local fare. I got the venison sausage
and mash, and heather had the hare toasted sandwhich. both meals were
huge, artfully prepared and presented... and delicious! yum. good
hearty base for heading to the glacier in franz Josef.

the pouring rain continued for the rest of our drive, we arrived in
franz Josef late. the town was overflowing with travelers (not a
single vacancy in town), and we were quite lucky to have gotten a 4-
share room booked at one of the hostels the week before. we had been
scoping for a private room, but none were to be found anywhere. got
settled, unpacked and repacked for our glacier hike the following
morning. rain predicted for the whole day.... and everyone we talked
to that was out that day said conditions were wet, wet, wet. lots of
layers!

the puké pub

stopped at a little roadside gem for dinner. sawdust floors and walls
covered in interesting artifacts, great little diversion from our
rainy drive.

rain? what rain. ha.

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towers of eroding rock

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pancake layers in the rock

touring troopers in the rain

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next stop - punakaiki pancake rocks

a little farther down the coast, we stopped at the pancake rock
visitors center and nature walk. our luck was finally up and the rain
was a good constant by now.

the path wound along the coast to great views of the pancake rocks,
limestone towers eroding away with time. the little plaques along the
way described the geological history of the area, however mentioned
that it was still a but of a mystery how the rocks developed with such
distinct pancake layers.

first glimpse of the sculpted rocks ing the coast

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little hike in the rain

did a little roadside hike. nature path through the bush to the
coastline. little plaques along the way with descriptions of the
native trees. rain phased in and out...