Our next destination was the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes at Dolomite Point near the town of Punakaiki, New Zealand. We left Cape Foulwind early enough so I would have plenty of time to explore, look for compositions, and find out where the sun was going to set.  After a short walk we reached the main blowhole viewing point. I set up my camera, including my remote cable release, and waited for a few minutes for an ocean swell. My timing was way off on the first spray. But I was ready for the next one. I captured this photo below at the height of the eruption. I was hoping for a lot more height, but the ocean didn’t want to cooperate with me that afternoon. Luckily, the swells were supposed to get bigger near sunset. I took a few more shots, and then explored the area a little more. I decided to crop the image slightly, as I think a 1:2 aspect ratio works a little better.

“Blowhole at Punakaiki” Punakaiki, New Zealand.

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We spent the rest of the afternoon caving and feeding ourselves, along with the wekas hanging out at our campervan. Before I knew it, the sun was starting to get low on the horizon so we headed back to the viewpoint. I had picked my composition earlier in the day, as I used “The Photographer’s Ephemeris” again to find out where the position of the sun would be as it hit the horizon. I took a few test shots, and then waited for a wave to come crashing in. Thankfully, the forecast was right and we were treated to some slightly larger sprays and some beautiful evening light.

“Pancake Rocks Sunset” Punakaiki, New Zealand.

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