Thursday, November 10, 2016

Moeraki Boulders, New Zealand

The Moeraki Boulders Scenic Reserve lies along a stretch of Koekohe Beach between Moeraki and Hampden.

It's about 75 km (46 miles) north of Dunedin up State Highway 1.  By bus it takes less than 1,5 hours.

The boulders were created by the cementation of mudstone which have been exhumed by coastal erosion.

Scientists date the formation of the boulders to be between 60 - 65 million years ago.

The boulders all weigh several tons each.  About one-third of them are 0,5 to 1 metre (~1,5 - 3 feet) in diameter.  The rest range from 1,5 to 2,2 metres (~5 to 7,2 feet) in diameter.

The Māori legend is that the boulders are gourds that washed up from a canoe several hundred years ago.

Visiting the boulders is well worth a little day trip.  I expect that the busiest times would be sunrise and sunset when all of the amateur photographers are all trying to get the perfect shot.



The best part of the day was just getting to see the Pacific (or actually the South Pacific) Ocean.

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