Day 19

In Charleston & Punakaiki. Hells Bells! Zack gave us the surprise of our lives this morning. He had filled his nappy, his pyjamas and his gro-bag with poo. Yes, with poo. We had a pretty quiet time yesterday afternoon, but I didn't think anything of it - it wouldn't be the first time. But this morning... My oh my. It's one of those stunned parent moments - you aren't completely awake but you know you have to do something IMMEDIATELY. Whew! We grabbed him and air-lifted him to the shower where we stripped him of all garments. I pulled on the rubber gloves and Keith rinsed Zack in the shower. We aren't stupid - we'd bought some NapiSan at the outset of our travels and have used it many times in the last few weeks, but this morning it came into it's own. After rinsing everything we sprinkled it with the magic stuff, and got some breakfast in. The motel lady said we could use the laundry, much to our relief.
We walked down to the beach where Zack discovered the sea for the first time, and couldn't get enough of 'waves'. He kept saying, "More!" and the sea was happy to deliver - ain't nature great ? He loved the rocks, the stones, the seashells, and of course, the sand - handfuls of it. We investigated the rocks and rock pools. Delighted to discover tiny crabs, small mussels everywhere and two magnificent starfish. Have you ever ? Goes to show how untouched this beautiful country is, when you can get starfish bigger than your hand, with more than 7 arms, on a regular beach.
Had a bit of a task getting Zack to take his afternoon nap, so gave up the struggle and drove down to Punakaiki. Zack fell asleep within minutes - little blighter ! So we headed into the cafe for a nice cuppa and a read of the paper. I even got onto the 'net before Zee woke up. Time to go and see the famous pancake rocks and blowholes. Really special sights - the pictures are going to say more than I can write.


Dinner was in the Punakaiki Tavern where Keith had the best steak in NZ - so tender and delicious. They have a lovely garden too, where you can sit at rocks like the Flintstones, and eat your meal in natural environs. No honestly, it was good.
Ruth and Zack home, Keith off to photograph the sunset.

Happy New Year everyone !