Once on the South Island we headed from Picton to the West Coast. There were several places that we wanted to see along the scenic coastal drive. One of our first stops was the Pancakes Rocks in Punikaiki National Park. The limestone rocks formed in thin stacked layers, hence the name pancake rocks. We weren’t overly excited by the sight of the rocks, but it did start me on a craving to eat some yummy pancakes. 
One of the most beautiful sights along the short walk was the flax plants everywhere. The Maori (native New Zealanders) use dried flax fiber to make baskets and other materials. Emma discovered that the dead stalks from the flax plants made great swords so we had an ongoing game of sword fighting while Paul was taking photos. 
The views along the coast alternated between incredibly steep cliffs and sandy beaches. Seeing the coast on our right and views of the mountains on our left was quite stunning. Penguins nest in several places along the coast and we stopped a few times, but no luck spotting one. Emma thought she saw a group of penguins swimming until we looked with the camera’s zoom lens and realized it was actually kelp in the ocean. 
A big tourist stop along this drive is one of two glaciers. We opted for the Franz Josef Glacier. To get close to the glacier, we hiked along the edge of a river. It was very surreal, as everything was grey. Grey water, grey rocks, grey mud….all leading up to the blue-ice glacier.
Along our hike we passed many waterfalls, flowing down the mountains into the river.
On the hike back from the glacier, Emma made quite the discovery. She asked if she could pick up some mud and unexpectedly she discovered gold! She carried a drippy, gobful of mud all the way back to the car. She deposited her treasure into a ziploc bag, intending to keep it as a souvenir or possibly cash in her riches (she was dreaming of all the money she could get from her miniscule gold flakes). Unfortunately, you can’t take dirt out of a country into another so Emma just played with it for the next week in NZ and then took a picture before leaving it behind. 
In the parking lot of the glacier, Paul and Emma had fun playing hot lava on a line of rocks. Paul decided he looks like a gibbon with his long arms and it looks like Emma may take after him! 
Along our hike we passed many waterfalls, flowing down the mountains into the river.
On the hike back from the glacier, Emma made quite the discovery. She asked if she could pick up some mud and unexpectedly she discovered gold! She carried a drippy, gobful of mud all the way back to the car. She deposited her treasure into a ziploc bag, intending to keep it as a souvenir or possibly cash in her riches (she was dreaming of all the money she could get from her miniscule gold flakes). Unfortunately, you can’t take dirt out of a country into another so Emma just played with it for the next week in NZ and then took a picture before leaving it behind. In the parking lot of the glacier, Paul and Emma had fun playing hot lava on a line of rocks. Paul decided he looks like a gibbon with his long arms and it looks like Emma may take after him! 
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