{"id":324,"date":"2022-11-14T03:02:11","date_gmt":"2022-11-14T03:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myholidayradar.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/14\/why-i-keep-going-back-to-punakaiki\/"},"modified":"2022-11-14T03:02:11","modified_gmt":"2022-11-14T03:02:11","slug":"why-i-keep-going-back-to-punakaiki","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myholidayradar.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/14\/why-i-keep-going-back-to-punakaiki\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I keep going back to Punakaiki"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

It\u2019s been no secret how much I love New Zealand\u2019s West Coast.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ever since my first visit in 2013, I\u2019ve been enamored with this quiet yet powerful corner of New Zealand. The least populated region, the West Coast, stretched almost the entire length of the South Island<\/a>. Home to big mountains, unusual birds, ancient forests, and no people, it couldn\u2019t be more perfect, especially for introverts like me.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But nowhere captures my heart more than the stretch of coastline from Greymouth to Westport, specifically around Punakaiki. It\u2019s a place that tourists visit but not as many as other spots on the South Island with more dramatic vistas. This part of the West Coast<\/a> is all about slowing down, taking it easy, and enjoying being in nature.<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t rush here; it\u2019s a place that inspires mindfulness and relaxation. I come here at least once a year to go off the grid, relax, and reset, and I often come up here to write. This past winter, I spent almost a week at the Perfect Stranger\u2019s Bach<\/a>\u00a0on a West Coast getaway, which was magical.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t25 photos that will inspire you to visit New Zealand\u2019s West Coast<\/a>\t<\/div>\n

<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"West<\/p>\n

\"West<\/p>\n

\"West<\/p>\n

There is something so nostalgic about being by the sea. I often wonder if it speaks to some ancient part of our brands; are we tapping into something we inherently crave but can\u2019t vocalize? Why? I think so. Can you relate?<\/p>\n

One of my favorite things about this part of the West Coast is that it\u2019s full of hideaways<\/a> and old baches (classic kiwi holiday homes) hidden amongst the flax bushes beside the sea. With its dense rainforests, you often don\u2019t even know they are there. Over the years, I have stayed in many of them, loving them all. Each and everyone has an epic story and make for an unforgettable West Coast getaway.<\/p>\n

Perhaps I love this area because it does feel like a different decade. With little phone reception to being pretty remote, many baches have directions like \u201c2.3 kilometers past the bridge by the third-mile sign, and if you come to the big bay, you\u2019ve gone too far.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Far out, I love that.<\/p>\n

\"West<\/p>\n

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\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\"West<\/p>\n

This time I spent five days at the Perfect Strangers Bach<\/a>, just north of Punakaiki.<\/p>\n

One of the OG baches of its time, it\u2019s tucked away right about the surf. Family-owned for decades, discerning readers might recognize the name from the 2003 kiwi film Perfect Strangers<\/em>, much of which was shot here. Trust me; it\u2019s a lot more tranquil in real life.<\/p>\n

Welcome to my happy place! I\u2019ve driven by this spot so many times, but unless you know it\u2019s here, you\u2019ll miss it. It\u2019s so remote that you park alongside State Highway 6 and wander down to it. There\u2019s not a lot of traffic in this part of the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Weka<\/a> definitely outnumber the locals here, as it should be.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"West<\/p>\n

\"West<\/p>\n

\"West<\/p>\n

A secret I spill so often it can\u2019t really be called a secret anymore is that I think New Zealand\u2019s West Coast is best experienced in winter, Punakiki especially.<\/p>\n

From Fiordland up to Golden Bay, the winds die down in the wintertime, and the sea becomes calm. The clouds disappear, and you often get beautiful bluebird still, clear and warm days. Because it\u2019s such a wild place, people tend to think that winter must be the worst weather, when I\u2019ve found the opposite to be true. Big storms come in summer.<\/p>\n

And once you get up to Punakaiki and further north, it sits in a wee trans-Tasman microclimate that brings warm, humid air. That\u2019s why you get so many tropical native palms and nikau here. You can even grow fruit that otherwise you could only grow far north on the North Island.<\/p>\n

The locals will probably murder me for sharing this, but I can\u2019t help it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"West<\/p>\n

\"West<\/p>\n

\"West<\/p>\n

But by far, the best part of staying at the Perfect Stranger\u2019s Bach on a West Coast getaway is that you have your own private beach.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There aren\u2019t any cabanas or coconuts here, but it offers some of the coastline\u2019s best views. You have a sandy beach plus rockpools to explore \u2013 always check the tide times; low is best. And there\u2019s a magnificent amount of mussels to forage along the coastline. Is there anything better than white wine linguini with mussels you caught yourself? Nope, there isn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Just writing this has made me so nostalgic for this incredible place. To fall asleep to waves crashing along the beach and native birdsong in the air is nothing short of magical.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Where\u2019s your haven? Do you have a favorite place by the sea that calls to you? Share!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"West<\/p>\n

\"West<\/p>\n

\"West<\/p>\n

Many thanks to Perfect Strangers for hosting me on the West Coast \u2013 like always, I\u2019m keeping it real \u2013 as you could expect less from me!<\/em><\/h5>\n

The post Why I keep going back to Punakaiki<\/a> appeared first on Young Adventuress<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been no secret how much I love New Zealand\u2019s West Coast.\u00a0 Ever since my first visit in 2013, I\u2019ve been enamored with this quiet yet powerful corner of New Zealand. The least populated region, the West Coast, stretched almost the entire length of the South Island. Home to big mountains, unusual birds, ancient forests, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":325,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[]},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myholidayradar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myholidayradar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myholidayradar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myholidayradar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myholidayradar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/myholidayradar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myholidayradar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myholidayradar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myholidayradar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myholidayradar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}