Blog

Punakaiki Visitor Centre coming along.

We’re all pretty excited here in Punakaiki about the new build that’s happening up at Dolomite Point opposite our mega famous Pancake Rocks. The new Experience Centre has been going ahead in leaps and bounds since work started at the end of May. The really tricky part of the work, getting the piles in to […]

Spring has sprung and so has a new business in Punakaiki!

Waka Puna is the brain child of business partners Jase and Dion. They’ve bought what was Punakaiki Canoes and, as well as continuing to offer kayak and gear rental, Waka Puna also has stand up paddle boards for hire and offers lessons. Dion grew up in Punakaiki and previously ran surf lessons and a stand […]

Stand up for your land!

You might not be aware of it but there’s a review of stewardship land on the West Coast going on at the moment and I reckon it’s pretty important. Stewardship land was allocated to DOC when it was established as a government department in 1987. DOC manages this land under the Conservation Act 1987 to […]

Experience Centre build kicks off

We’ve had a couple of celebrations in Punakaiki over the past few weeks to mark the start of something huge for our piece of paradise – the building of the new Experience Centre. This is a major milestone for the Department of Conservation’s Dolomite Point Redevelopment Project and we’re stoked about it. The community […]

Running the Paparoa Track in a day

We woke up in Blackball in our tent, stepped outside, tent was surrounded by water, soaking feet already; we knew it would be a big day! We were very excited to run the Paparoa Track in a day. Johanna and I had run a half marathon (21kms) a few months before and had been slowly […]

Peak Paparoa on track

From October through to the end of April Ces Clarke, Moonlight and Pororari huts all have a warden in place. They mostly do an eight day on, six day off rotation, so two wardens will call each hut home over these months. Hut wardens are there to help visitors enjoy their stay whether it’s their […]

New Punakaiki shared pathway

We are well stoked with the new pathway for walkers and cyclists which runs from the Truman Track to the Punakaiki River, it’s awesome for those of us who live in lovely Punakaiki and for visitors too. It used to be that to get from one part of Punakaiki to another on foot or bike […]

Punakaiki’s Top 5 to do’s for families

So, the winter solstice has passed, Matariki has been sighted and from here on in the days get longer and the summer closer – yay! It’s time to start planning how you’re going to spend your summer holidays and here at the Punakaiki Beach Camp we can definitely help with that. Our little piece of […]

Taiko Festival rocks Punakaiki!

700 people attended this years Taiko Festival here at the Punakaiki Beach Camp and it went off! Wearing gumboots and swannies attendees danced through the night at what is now becoming a must do on the West Coast event calendar. Tiki Tanae and PDiggggs came together in an epic set of NZ “fire tunes”. The two […]

Boutique Punakaiki festival woos national talent

Bird-watching, tree-planting, yoga, clowning around, dancing, singing, poetry, kids racing around – it’s time for the mini Glastonbury of the South again! Three years after wowing Tāiko Festival audiences at the boutique Punakaiki event, Kiwi music legend Tiki Taane is coming back, joined by Shapeshifter vocalist PDigsss. Festival Chair Jed Findlay says Taane jumped at […]

New holiday home website

We might be bucking the trend a bit but we’ve been blown away by the number of New Zealanders making plans to head for Punakaiki who ask us about holiday homes. They want comfortable houses where they can chill, do their own thing in terms of cooking but places that are also a bit special in our […]

Our very own Paparoa Track builder

https://www.punakaikibeachcamp.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/20201212_163615.mp4 At the beach camp we have a real expert on the Paparoa Track, one who helped build it. Tim got a job straight out of school working as part of the Department of Conservation team which built the Moonlight Tops section of the Great Walk. Not a bad way to start life on the […]