On the Move - Richmond to Greymouth

Today we are traveling from the Nelson area to Greymouth on the west coast.  It may not look like a long way, but we are traversing what is known as "The Southern Alps" and it will be very slow going.  We head out around 9:30 and make a couple of stops in Richmond - a Swiss bakery that has been closed for the last two days and a couple of thrift stores to see if we can purchase a used coat.  The chill is in the air and we are heading further south toward the Arctic Circle....brrrrr!  We are underway and heading toward the town of Westport for lunch.  We should arrive at around 1:00 by our calculations.  Since we stop a couple of time - gas and snacks - we only arrive in Westport around 2:00 and cannot seem to find a restaurant that serves anything other than overpriced burgers or fried food....so we opt for a picnic in a local park.  We pick up our goodies at the local grocery store and head to the park where we make sandwiches and have fruit.  Back in the car, we are heading now toward the town of Punakaiki where we have heard there is something called the "Pancake Rocks" that several people have mentioned is a must see.  We see a turn off toward the coast at Turner's Track and think this must be the place.  After a short walk to the water, we discover that this is NOT the place, but a cool place in any event.  There are all sorts of caves that have been carved out of the limestone by years of water rushing in and out.  The beach is a short climb down some rocks/stairs to a pebble beach that tickles your feet as you walk. We make our way out to the water's edge and Sam and Annie crawl around in the rock formations.  In some parts, there are small waterfalls where the water has made it way through the rock surfaces.  Pretty neat place, but not what we were looking for.  We continue on and hope to come across the pancake rocks.  By now it is nearly 6:00 at night and we are hopeful that we will arrive at our destination before the offices close in Greymouth.  We come upon the entrance to Pancake Rocks and trek down a path until we reach it.  It is amazing!  It looks like a drippy sand castle that you make at the edge of the water.  It is perched way up in the air and you can see the waves crashing below in and around the rocky cliffs.  There are a couple of blowholes here and we see what we think may be one as the waves expose the hole then come crashing up through it to make a spout of water shoot up into the air.  Cool!  We walk around a little longer, mindful that the clock is ticking and we have miles to go before we sleep.  We arrive at Greymouth at 8:30, pretty tired from a long day of driving, but the grocery closes at 9:00 so we must go pick up a couple of items.