Well the rain ended in Paroa and we drove up the coast 
, stopping for pancakes at Pancake Rocks in a town that sounds like pancake: Punakaiki. I had heard or thought they would be round stones stacked atop each other, but they were layers of rock 
crumbling so they had intricate lines interlaced along them. 
As if that weren’t beautiful enough, they had created or been created near rock arches 
hollowed out by waves and a blow hole where the ocean came spewing up.
Afterwards, we walked away from the ocean into a canyon. 
We then drove to Cape Foulwind, where we watched a seal colony below us.
Then we made our way to Dunpuffin cottages, where more animal friends awaited (well, friendly if you have food). 
We had to drive over some more pretty mountains 
(can’t get town to town in New Zealand without crossing mountains it seems).
The next morning, we drove over to Abel Tasman National Park and walked Takaka Hill 
(Maori place names fall into two categories: sounding like (1) an East Indian food dish or (2) something naughty). On the way, we had a great view of Ruby Bay. 
The next day we went on a day-trip tour of Marlborough, our favorite source for Sauvignon Blanc wines. We had a wonderful set of companions for the day 
and a very kind driver named Katrina. When we check the news, everyone in it seems not-so-great, but we have met plenty of kind and thoughtful people on our trip.
Yesterday, on the way back to Dunpuffin Cottages, we walked at Lake Rotoiti 
, where the water was so clear and the layout 
reminded us of our time in Gmunden, Austria.
Today, we got massages and had a chance to catch our breath.
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