By October 1866 the authorities had cut a track to avoid the ladders, but it soon degenerated into a morass. In 1867 under-employed "diggers"(prospectors) were used to cut the "Razorback Road", now known as the Inland Pack Track, to avoid the coast completely, heading up the Fox River, south through rough hill country, and emerging at the mouth of the Punakaiki River. The route which linked Cobden, north of Greymouth, with the gold workings at Brighton on the mouth of the Fox River, cost perhaps £10,000 and was completed by October 1867, but was not a success: it required too many river crossings that were difficult in times of flood, and after the gold rush ended and the diggers moved on it fell into disrepair. In January 1873 the Grey River Argus called the road "perfectly useless" and it was little-used after the 1870s. Travellers who crossed Te Miko plateau stopped at the Pororari River lagoon, and waited for low tide to cross the mudflats (while avoiding quicksand). A dry limestone overhang on the north side of the lagoon was a convenient place to wait, and became known as the "Post Office", because diggers would leave messages and carve their names into the walls. As late as 1931 graffiti like "Sandy 1866" and "Hamilton Nov 20/65" were still visible. After crossing the present-day site of Punakaiki, the path went over the Dolomite Point headland and down to Punakaiki River. There is no record of early travellers noticing or commenting on the Pancake Rock formations, which are only 15 minutes off the track, and Māori do not seem to have pointed them out to early European explorers. Those heading south to the diggings at Canoe Creek still had to navigate the Razorback, navigating a narrow path between a deep chasm on one side and a sheer drop to the beach on the other. A vehicular road was not built here until 1929, finally connecting Greymouth and Westport. In 2018, the remnants of Cyclone Fehi caused severe damage to the road immediately north of Dolomite point. Improvements costing $7.8 million were completed by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency to provide more resilience to this section of State Highway 6. Population There are fewer than 100 permanent residents, but the village has been host to at least 500,000 visitors in some years. Wildlife and conservation Located on the edge of the Paparoa National