Moeraki Boulders
Moeraki Boulders
Your Nature Guide
Marios Gavalas
Author And Researcher
Nau mai, haere mai
I'm Marios, delivering the best of Aotearoa's nature walks to your device.
I've personally walked hundreds of New Zealand's tracks and spent months in libraries uncovering interesting information on New Zealand/Aotearoa. And you'll find a slice of that research on this page - enjoy!
Maps
Photos
Information
Taniwha eggs? Alien shells?
The boulders at Moeraki on the North Otago coast have speculated over for hundreds of years.
Geological curiosities. The largest is over 2.2m in diameter and weighs more than 7 tonnes. There are more than 50 strewn like dinosaur eggs along the beach.
Timing
The boulders are best exposed 3 hours either side of low tide. If a big swell is running then you may not be able to get to the boulders at any tide.
Access
Moeraki Boulders are well signposted from SH1. There is a cafe and toilets at the parking area.
Track
Descend to the beach and head left. Explore the boulders and join the antics.
A short loop track from the cafe leads up to a viewing platform above the boulders.
Geology
Geologists term them septarian concretions. Around 60 million years ago, muddy sediments accumulated on the sea floor with plant, bone and shell fragments embedded. Sea creatures such as marine worms, molluscs and urchins mixed these sediment layers, homogenising them through their burrowing. As the wet sediments were buried more deeply, chemical reactions occurred and calcite crystallised around the organic nuclei. When this process occurred at an even rate on all sides, spherical nodules formed. For a small concretion, less than 1mm across the process may have taken around 150,000 years. Try 4 million years for one of the biggies!
As the outer material became solid and the inner material dried, shrinkage cracks propagated outwards from core to rim. These cracks were then filled with saturated calcite solution and yellow and brown calcite crystals were precipitated.
Over the last few million years, this layer of mudstone has been uplifted to the present day sea level and the gnawing of the waves on the soft cliffs is exposing the boulders. There are many more buried and many more to be revealed in the cliffs.
Polynesian History
The South Island tribe Ngati Tahu explain their formation through a story. When the great canoe Arai Te Uru was wrecked on the coast near Matakaea (Shag Point) the cargo was thrown overboard. The water gourds (Te Kai Hinaki) became the Moeraki Boulders, while the seed kumara became the more irregularly shaped rocks to the south. Several other features of the area are related to this wreck, including the hull becoming a reef near Shag Point and many local hills named after crew members.
Details
| Feature | Value | Info |
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Location |
South Island ▷ Coastal Otago ▷ Oamaru |
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Reviews
Showing 13 reviews of 91.
Mike Fricker
Ranking: 10/10
28Oct18. Not enough there to spend the day but we were delighted by the boulders. They are in various states of preservation. Some lie in pieces, some are well on the way and some are whole. There is one just about out of the cliff and one just showing through.
We went through the tourist area and paid $2 each for access. Didn’t begrudge that at all. There is also a cafe and toilets.
There is a free Moeraki Boulders public parking just off the highway. Go down there if $2 is too much.
Sebasitian
Ranking: 7/10
Odd looking boulders embedded in sand, very crowded but cool visit anyway.
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Jerome Cluzel
Ranking: 7/10
Good spot to see the phenomenon of Moeraki Boulders. Just a few minutes enough to get some pictures, not bothered to stay the day.
Franziska Liebe
Ranking: 10/10
Interesting beach walk to the boulders (amazing big round rocks). On the other side of the peninsula walk to the seal colony. So amazed by the seals and penguins, awesome experience!
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Sophie
Ranking: 8/10
$2 donation. Too many people there - come early or late. Sometimes you can see dolphins there, think about the tides!
Ulrich K
Ranking: 5/10
Pretty hyped spot. Was not the best weather when we arrived (mid September) but I can't imagine it to be that good with nice weather. The Boulders itself are quite interesting but only for 5-10 minutes. Maybe go there during a sunset.
Jean Charlies Coudray
Ranking: 8/10
Surprising rocks, easy to get there, kids loved to play there.
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Maarten
Ranking: 5/10
Not exciting and lots of tourists.
Alvaro Rodriguez
Ranking: 10/10
An awesome beach with strange boulders where you can take great photos.
Laura Munguira Vadillo
Ranking: 9/10
Great stones that look like they belong to another period of time.
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Benedikt Maus
Ranking: 7/10
Some nice round rocks in the sea, guess it is even more impressive at sunset and sunrise.
Nele Foerske
Ranking: 8/10
A nice walk along the beach at low tide. The weather was so nice and until you reached the Boulders we were alone at the beach. The Boulders were good to visit, but a bit crowded.
Gavin Moffatt
Ranking: 7/10
An early whaling station settlement (1836) but the surprise is the large round boulder half buried in the sand, some cracked apart being washed by the incoming and outgoing tide. How they came to be here is a good question.
