Punakaiki et Paparoa
Punakaiki et Paparoa
Marion
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Were you in a storm? Rugged coastline.
Jenny & Jean-Daniel
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No storm, just some heavy cloud cover and lots of waves. Yes, the coastline is really beautiful!
Marion
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But did you find gold , diamonds and pirate treasure. Honestly,. Was it interesting?
Jenny & Jean-Daniel
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Hehe, it would have been nice to find something that would allow us to be on a gap year forever more, but we found only darkness, absolute silence, and rock formations. Interesting yes, but mostly fun! The cave is quite small (150m max) but we were alone in there so it quickly became very spooky!
Marion
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Beautiful.... Can you surf there?Great waves.
Jenny & Jean-Daniel
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New Zealand has a big surfing community but I don't think this is a good surf spot. The seafloor is very rocky, the water not particularly deep, and there are quite obviously some very strong currents. I personnally wouldn't put a toe in the water!
Marion
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Just a little one. Dangerous?
Jenny & Jean-Daniel
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Gosh, yes, very dangerous. You don't want to fall in the water here. This is a spot where big waves come crashing against the rocks. The photo is what is called a "blowhole": the power of the waves crashing against the sea shore blows air + water out of a chimney-like rock formation. This was 10-15m above sea level.
Marion
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Love ❤️ trees. Do you know what type of trees?
Jenny & Jean-Daniel
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We're slowly getting to know them. The tall ones *might* be Rimu - a native New Zealand tree, used a lot for timber. We also got to discover Nikau palm trees and Rata. The latter grows around a supporting tree (typically, Rimu). It eventually kills it off and becomes a self-standing tree with a hollow in it. Still lots to learn though.
Marion
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Was it very high? Do they have crocodiles? Snakes, spiders etc😬?
Jenny & Jean-Daniel
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Probably 10m high. Nope, no crocodiles or big predators in New Zealand, which is why the flightless bird community was historically able to thrive. However, the introduction of small predators (e.g. cats, rats, stoats, opposum, etc.) are however having a huge impact on the native bird population and threatening the native ecosystems as a result.
