Day 5… Westport to Lake Mahinapua

Today we stopped at the Punakaiki Pancake rocks on the way to our hostel. The rock cliffs were at the end of a short walk through a rainforest. There was a really powerful blowhole in the side of one of the cliffs. The blowhole reminded me of The Rescuers Down Under, which was one of my favorite childhood books.

We stayed at the Poo Pub; it’s a combination pub and hostel in the middle of nowhere on the West Coast. The pub is located in a town with a population of one… the oldest publican in NZ. Every Kiwi Experience bus stops here for the night and has a bus party to break the ice and awkwardness. We all voted on a party theme… stereotypes. I was a stereotypical American: blonde wig, cutoff shorts with leggings, I ♥ NY tank top, red lipstick and fingernails. It was a lot of fun, though not necessarily my scene.