Pupu Springs and Pancake Rocks

Te Waikoropupū Springs – Pupu Springs

This is a special place, both culturally and geologically. The water here is some of the clearest on the planet. And there is a lot of it. Underground springs here produce approximately 14,000 litres of water per second.

Māori belief is that the springs are the legendary home of one of the three taniwha (supernatural beings who live underwater), Huriawa, who travels underground, clearing blocked waterways. Consequently, the waters are tapu – you cannot drink it or swim in the springs.

They also have the best walk in the world. It says so on the sign above.

The first stop on the walk was the hydro generation room. This produces 1.8 Gigawatts per hour. But it does not make use of the water from the Te Waikoropupū Springs because of its tapu status.

I stopped to talk with the guys working on a new trail. The last trail got severely damaged during the cyclone (I thought something was up when I found myself way off-piste on the hiking app). They told me the new trail has a gentler gradient than previously, and the water runoff is much improved. They do a fantastic job.

Then it was time to drive west to Punakaiki to see the Pancake Rocks.

Pancake Rocks

After a quick visit to the Truman Track to admire the coastline, we drove down to Pancake Rocks, where we joined a coach full of Korean tourists who were also there to snap photos of this geological wonder.

The rocks were formed around 30 million years ago. The layers are made of hard limestone and softer sandstone. The softer sandstone eventually washes away due to erosion, creating their stratified appearance. Here endeth the lesson.

You have to be there to appreciate it, but the sea rushes in at a tremendous rate and bursts out of blowholes in the rocks, ejecting plumes of spray into the air.  The photo below might not do it justice.

And now were are off to see a bit of working class history.