Moeraki Boulders
Your Nature Guide
Marios Gavalas
Author And Researcher
Nau mai, haere mai
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!
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Information
Moeraki Boulders
600 m return | 10 minutes return
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.
Walking Track
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
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Organisation |
DOC OtagoCentral government organisation |
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Location |
South Island ▷ Coastal Otago ▷ Oamaru |
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Directions To Coordinates |
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Coordinates |
Walking
Scenic Attractions
Nearby
Reviews
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5.0/5
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.
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3.5/5
Good spot to see the phenomenon of Moeraki Boulders.
Just a few minutes enough to get some pictures, not bothered to stay the day.
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5.0/5
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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4.0/5
$2 donation.
Too many people there - come early or late. Sometimes you can see dolphins there, think about the tides!
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2.5/5
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.
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3.5/5
Some nice round rocks in the sea, guess it is even more impressive at sunset and sunrise.
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5.0/5
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.
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3.5/5
Good spot to see the phenomenon of Moeraki Boulders.
Just a few minutes enough to get some pictures, not bothered to stay the day.
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5.0/5
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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4.0/5
$2 donation.
Too many people there - come early or late. Sometimes you can see dolphins there, think about the tides!
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2.5/5
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.
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3.5/5
Some nice round rocks in the sea, guess it is even more impressive at sunset and sunrise.
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4.0/5
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.
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3.5/5
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.
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4.0/5
I appreciated these as examples of what nature can create but I like geology and geography.
Others may find them less interesting/an anti climax. Go through the DOC walk entrance not via the restaurant (don't follow the big blue signs) so that you don't feel obliged to pay $2pp to use their steps down to the beach.
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2.5/5
Really?
You have to pay to get down a private way to the beach. Felt ripped off even though we followed the official signs.
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3.5/5
Near Oamaru is a beach with stones, they look like dragon eggs.
It is cool to see but it was not a highlight.
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3.5/5
FREE.....
boulders on a beach, look very pretty at dusk, worth a stop off along the way.
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2.5/5
Impressive and mystical rocks.
A bit disappointed by the fact that this place has become a huge tourist attraction.
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2.5/5
Approximately 10 of the boulders are there.
Very touristy and busy, get there early over late. Use the free entrance straight after the railway crossing, not via the restaurant, they charge $2.
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4.0/5
So interesting!
People are not giving these boulders enough credit. One of our highlights that completely shocked us. Only thing we disliked was the 'donation' box, made you feel like you HAD to pay to see them.
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5.0/5
Just a short walk along the beach, there is no excuse to not go visit these boulders.
Free to get to and an interesting site. Quite touristy but worth a look. You can get some beautiful pictures especially at dusk.
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5.0/5
First thing to note is that the very well maintained steps to get down to the beach from the car park are privately owned and maintained and all they ask for is a $2 donation.
So although it might be 'free' to some; the small price of $2 is nothing when you have easy access and toilets and restaurant and gift shop and bar (and there is free WiFi!). The boulders were well worth the trip - see them at low tide - we got some fantastic photos. Traveling in Winter means less tourists and easy access to everything. Quite incredible natural objects in a beautiful wild setting
