I have to let all of you reading this in on a little secret. It's not my secret. It's New Zealand's secret. I'm quite sure that they don't want it to stay a secret but they are doing a poor job of letting the public know about it. We all know, or have heard, that New Zealand is saturated with amazing sites and views and, of course, it's true. But not all of them are well known even though they should be.
I want to tell you all about Paparoa National Park. It's on the west coast of the south island and is a hidden gem because I never saw it on any websites or brochures at tourist centers. It is pretty much unadvertised but I don't know why. It was one of the best day trips I had while in New Zealand.
Limestone cliffs facing the ocean in Paparoa National Park
How I discovered Paparoa National Park
The story goes that I was hitch-hiking from St. Arnaud down to Greymouth on the west coast (hitch-hiking is very safe in New Zealand). The ride I was in that took me along the coast drove right through the little town of Punakaiki, which is at the entrance to the national park which I didn't even know existed at this point. At about sunset, we rounded one of the bends in the road and I saw the limestone cliffs. My jaw dropped. The soft orange light from the sunset hitting the small clouds of mist in the air that hugged the rainforest cliffs... It was breathtaking. Unfortunately I couldn't capture a good photo of this moment so once I got to Greymouth half an hour later, I decided to rent a car the next day to drive back to Punakaiki and explore this place more.
The coastline near Punakaiki
Once I rented the car the next morning I went straight to the visitor's center for Paparoa National Park to see what there was I could do there. I picked up a map and then walked across the road to see the Pancake Rocks which is it's biggest attraction.
Pancake Rocks
The Pancake Rocks, as you can see, look like pancakes stacked in weird shapes. At high tide, the waves crash against the rocks and spray up through a blowhole.
After that, I drove to a trailhead for the best half-day hike in the park. It is a loop trail where half of it is along the Porarari River and the last half goes through the forest and along the highway with some cool caves to explore.
The Porarari river goes through a gorge with tall limestone cliffs on either side of it. Cliffs where rainforest vegetation crawl up its vertical face. This was the most scenic spot of the whole park, in my opinion. It was just so beautiful. It looks similar to what I've seen from photos of Hawaii.
The river gorge
There is a place near where the river meets the ocean where you can rent kayaks and canoes to go up the river. I decided to rent a kayak for golden hour so I could paddle up the river in the absolute best light. It was a great decision.
Golden hour gorge reflection from the kayak I rented
I encourage anyone visiting New Zealand's west coast to make a stop at Paparoa National Park at least for half a day to explore the beauty it has to offer. It is one of the most underrated places I went to in New Zealand. I couldn't believe I never even heard or seen pictures of the place before I discovered it on accident.
The video I made for the kayak adventure in Paparoa can be found HERE.
I love finding hidden gems while I travel. Are you the same way?
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