Pancake Rocks

The principal feature of interest in the small national park, only established in 1987, is the Pancake Rocks, a curious limestone formation in which the strata look like piles of pancakes. In the rocks are blowholes, through which, when there is a heavy surf, water spurts high into the air.

The warm marine current that passes this way and the shelter afforded by the rocks produce a microclimate in which a rich subtropical vegetation (including many nikau palms) flourishes.

The best way to see the Pancake Rocks is to follow a footpath alongside the sea, which starts at Dolomite Point. On the way there are safe platforms looking straight down into the seething blowholes. There are also beautiful views inland, as far as the Southern Alps in good weather.