Tequila was five dollars at the bar. I bought five shots.

I think being rained on for four days, stuck in certain places I didn’t want to be stuck in, and cooped up in a car for about six hours deserved a reward. So reward I did.

What else would frustrated college students do in a pretty swanky hostel?

(Read: hi, they played the St. Louis vs. Chicago playoff game! My inner Canadian-hockey-loving-girl came out.)

Suffice to say we had left Westport with hope for better days. Yeah, so it still rained. And yeah, my Timberlands are putting in a lot of work. And yes, I saw another seal colony. I swear, I see them every single day.

But, we saw the Pancake Rocks.

Maple syrup anyone?

Stacked on top of each other, like yes, pancakes, it was actually a pretty sight to see in regards to rock formations.

Located by the water, the rocks were also a perfect place for blowholes to happen. Water splashing and the whoosh sounds reminded me of the ending scenes in Fools’ Gold (think Matthew McC and Kate Hudson beating the antagonist).

(Read: on a side note the green hills surrounding us made me feel like I was in Tarzan. I clearly have this movie thing going for me…I blame Kaikoura.)

(Although, I wish the sun came out so I could’ve had less-grey photos. It’s become a prominent shade in my “memories-of-NZ-collection” right now…)

Either way, it’s still a great place to pit stop if you’re passing by. There are also a lot of souvenir shops and cafés if you do need a hide out from the rain. We used and abused that knowledge. I mean, I know, we didn’t have a choice, but it wouldn’t be a Kiwi Experience without Kiwi experiences.

And yes, I do think dancing and taking shots with my new international friends (OK, so they’re mostly American) counts as an experience.

***Fun fact of the day: jade is known as greenstone in New Zealand, you can only really shape/cut it with diamonds, and it’s found in the wear coast of the South Island.