A strange and beautiful formation, the Pancake Rocks are present along the coast of New Zealand and a popular tourist destination.
They are called so as they look like giant stacks of pancakes on top of each other near Punakaiki, a village on the South Island of New Zealand.
The foundations of the rocks were laid around 30 million years ago. It is made with dead marine creatures and plants landing on the seabed, and then being subjected to immense pressure from the water. The structure was lifted above sea level by seismic activity, where, over time leaving behind a structure made of the harder layers of limestone, which resembles pancakes.
The structure is not the only reason they are popular but also due to the presence of blowholes, where the sea causes fine mists and a loud whoosh during high tide. The waters churn angrily in the surge pool, aptly named the Devil’s Cauldron, rising higher with the tides and swirling around the ‘cauldron’. Visitors who want to see this spectacle for themselves should time their visit with the high tides, the times for which are available at the local Department of Conservation’s visitor centre.
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Visitors can also get a chance to see Hector’s dolphins near the shore. These are a rare species and are only found in New Zealand.
The rocks are located from Paparoa National Park and there is even a Pancake Rocks Café nearby, serving pancake stacks for real.