6 PAPAROA TRACK: A Great Walk on a roll
ON A SUNNY, windless morning at Punakaiki, the seaward horizon and the bush-heavy inland hills are free of cloud. A decent swell butts up against headlands to the north and south of the small settlement. It’s early, which means the usual queues of campervans and tourist buses, not to mention the over-friendly sandflies, are yet to congregate. The blowhole at Pancake Rocks does its thing in relative privacy for a change.
And there I was, sitting on my bike, watching the waves and taking a moment to embrace the Coast’s unique ambience before starting out on New Zealand’s first Great Walk to be opened in 25 years. Before me stretched 55km of purpose-built
