A BIG BUNCH OF BALLS
01 JULY 2022
Bella studying one of the boulders
Did You Add This To Your Bucket List?
If you have ever planned a trip in the South Island, then Moeraki Boulders will have been a destination that will have come up many times in your research - it did for us when we were planning our epic South Island trip in a Britz camper. They are a very well-known bunch of round boulders - really, that's all they are! Of course, there's more to them than that, but round boulders they are.
The Moeraki Boulders are a bunch of 50 spherical boulders embedded in the cliffs and sand at Moeraki Beach in Otago and are a tourist hot spot for people passing through.
The boulders are one of those things that you just add to your list because eeeeveryone raves about how you HAVE TO GO, so you get really excited about going! We drove 2 hours across the country, to the coast of Otago after visiting the Omarama Clay Cliffs, to park up our Britz camper at Riverside Haven. We got there pretty late at night, so we had an early dinner and early bedtime.
The next morning, we woke up to the coolest view of a huge cliff beside a crystal-clear river. The girls were soooo excited to see the river and stones and insisted on throwing as many into the river as they could! We cooked up bacon, eggs and ciabatta (somewhat a tradition on our holidays) in the camper then sat down by the river to eat breakfast, while the kids threw, skipped and examined as many stones as they could.
We didn't have much time to stay at Riverside Haven as we had to go check out the boulders, visit Oamaru to go on a steam train ride and go to Steampunk HQ, then go on a looong drive to Christchurch before our early flight the next day.
It was a quick trip to the boulders and we decided to park at the Moeraki Boulders Cafe. Here's the thing, if you park here and walk down to the beach, there is an entrance fee, it was a few dollars which isn't so bad, but if you park further down at the public carpark on Moeraki Boulders Road, there is no fee, but you have to walk further to see the boulders. It's one to weigh up and decide what works best for you and your family. Personally, we didn't mind paying a small fee to get down to the beach, as we were stopping for a coffee at the cafe anyway and we were in a rush, so it was the perfect spot for us.
There was plenty of parking at the cafe, even for our camper. The cafe had a toasty fire going as it was a cold autumn day and the coffee was great. Of course, the girls spotted the gift shop, so we had to stop in there!
The Moeraki Boulders are a bunch of 50 spherical boulders embedded in the cliffs and sand at Moeraki Beach in Otago and are a tourist hot spot for people passing through.
The boulders are one of those things that you just add to your list because eeeeveryone raves about how you HAVE TO GO, so you get really excited about going! We drove 2 hours across the country, to the coast of Otago after visiting the Omarama Clay Cliffs, to park up our Britz camper at Riverside Haven. We got there pretty late at night, so we had an early dinner and early bedtime.
The next morning, we woke up to the coolest view of a huge cliff beside a crystal-clear river. The girls were soooo excited to see the river and stones and insisted on throwing as many into the river as they could! We cooked up bacon, eggs and ciabatta (somewhat a tradition on our holidays) in the camper then sat down by the river to eat breakfast, while the kids threw, skipped and examined as many stones as they could.
We didn't have much time to stay at Riverside Haven as we had to go check out the boulders, visit Oamaru to go on a steam train ride and go to Steampunk HQ, then go on a looong drive to Christchurch before our early flight the next day.
It was a quick trip to the boulders and we decided to park at the Moeraki Boulders Cafe. Here's the thing, if you park here and walk down to the beach, there is an entrance fee, it was a few dollars which isn't so bad, but if you park further down at the public carpark on Moeraki Boulders Road, there is no fee, but you have to walk further to see the boulders. It's one to weigh up and decide what works best for you and your family. Personally, we didn't mind paying a small fee to get down to the beach, as we were stopping for a coffee at the cafe anyway and we were in a rush, so it was the perfect spot for us.
There was plenty of parking at the cafe, even for our camper. The cafe had a toasty fire going as it was a cold autumn day and the coffee was great. Of course, the girls spotted the gift shop, so we had to stop in there!
The track leading down to the beach from the Moeraki Boulders Cafe
View from the public carpark on Moeraki Boulders Road
The best time to see the boulders is at low tide
Some of the boulders were bunched together and others were all on their lonesome
Make Sure You Get There At Low Tide
The access to the beach from the Moeraki Beach Cafe is less than a minute and it takes you down a dirt track, offering great views of the beach along the way. There's even a boot cleaning station here which is super helpful to use after rainy days on the track.
We didn't have to walk far to see the boulders and they were obvious to spot (which is great because there's nothing worse than walking round like an idiot, trying to find some round rocks).
We arrived as the tide was going out (or maybe it was coming in... one of life's great mysteries!) so a lot of the rocks were exposed and we set off to explore. The girls were completely underwhelmed, with Bella asking why we had come to see some rocks. We kind of agreed with her, as everyone we had spoken to had hyped the boulders up so much, that we were expecting a lot more. What that 'more' was exactly, we don't know. The boulders are beautiful, but we felt that the 2-hour drive across the country was unnecessary and we could have explored something a little more exciting instead! But alas, that's the beauty of travel and adventure as you never know until you try it, right?
One of the best times to visit the boulders is at sunset or sunrise as they do make a beautiful focus piece to photograph. There was slight fog on the beach the day we went, it did look really pretty but the sunrise wasn't too colourful unfortunately!
The girls ended up having fun climbing on the boulders, jumping from one to another and it was cool to examine them as they are not something you see on every beach! There are similar boulders in Northland at Koutu Beach, in a similar area where we walked around the Wairere Boulders.
We didn't have to walk far to see the boulders and they were obvious to spot (which is great because there's nothing worse than walking round like an idiot, trying to find some round rocks).
We arrived as the tide was going out (or maybe it was coming in... one of life's great mysteries!) so a lot of the rocks were exposed and we set off to explore. The girls were completely underwhelmed, with Bella asking why we had come to see some rocks. We kind of agreed with her, as everyone we had spoken to had hyped the boulders up so much, that we were expecting a lot more. What that 'more' was exactly, we don't know. The boulders are beautiful, but we felt that the 2-hour drive across the country was unnecessary and we could have explored something a little more exciting instead! But alas, that's the beauty of travel and adventure as you never know until you try it, right?
One of the best times to visit the boulders is at sunset or sunrise as they do make a beautiful focus piece to photograph. There was slight fog on the beach the day we went, it did look really pretty but the sunrise wasn't too colourful unfortunately!
The girls ended up having fun climbing on the boulders, jumping from one to another and it was cool to examine them as they are not something you see on every beach! There are similar boulders in Northland at Koutu Beach, in a similar area where we walked around the Wairere Boulders.
This boulder has likely rolled out of the bank, after being embedded there for so long
Some of the boulders had broken apart, which made the visit more interesting as you could look inside them
This is a popular spot to photograph at sunrise
A Bit Of Fancy Information For Ya
The boulders are spherical boulders (which we're sure you've already figured out) and are called concretions, which started forming over 60 million years ago in marine mud. It's estimated that the boulders larger than 2 metres in diameter have taken 4 - 5.5 million years to get to their current size, under 10 - 50 metres of marine mud, under the sea.
When the cliffs erode, they expose the boulders and eventually there's so much erosion that the boulders are no longer embedded and roll onto the sand (kinda reminds me of the song about the meatball rolling out the door that we used to sing as kids). They are also under the sand and who knows how many more are waiting to pop up and say hello.
Some of the boulders weigh several tonnes (beat that, elephants!) and consist of mud, clay, fine silt and are celemeted by calcite. The cracks you see in the boulders are known as septaria (fancy word) and contain a mixture of yellow calcite spar (inner/late stage), brown calcite (outer/early stage), and some rare boulders have a layer of dolomite and quartz covering the yellow calcite spar. The cracks are formed when there is a drop in sea level, allowing fresh water to flow through the mudstone.
When the cliffs erode, they expose the boulders and eventually there's so much erosion that the boulders are no longer embedded and roll onto the sand (kinda reminds me of the song about the meatball rolling out the door that we used to sing as kids). They are also under the sand and who knows how many more are waiting to pop up and say hello.
Some of the boulders weigh several tonnes (beat that, elephants!) and consist of mud, clay, fine silt and are celemeted by calcite. The cracks you see in the boulders are known as septaria (fancy word) and contain a mixture of yellow calcite spar (inner/late stage), brown calcite (outer/early stage), and some rare boulders have a layer of dolomite and quartz covering the yellow calcite spar. The cracks are formed when there is a drop in sea level, allowing fresh water to flow through the mudstone.
How come these boulders are in so many pieces?
Yellow and brown calcite form in the cracks of the boulders
Some of the boulders are still embedded in the sand (there may be hundreds more below your feet!)
5 what, Sienna? High 5? 5 more minutes?
Know Before You Go
- It's best to visit at low tide, so you can see most of the boulders
- If you are in a hurry, then park at the Moeraki Boulders Cafe carpark - but this will cost you a few $ to get down to the beach
- If you have a lot of time, then park at the Moeraki Boulders public carpark further south - this is free
- Sunrise and sunset are fantastic times to visit, it can make a stunning picture
Mappy McMap Face
Getting There
Conclusion
The Moeraki Boulders are a unique feature along the Northern Otago coastline in New Zealand. They are objects of wonder and if you're into unique things or even geology, you don't want to miss this beach. It's a nice thing to see if you're passing by and it's an interesting walk to stretch your legs.
Gallery of Moeraki Boulders
Check out the rest of the awesomeness that didn't make it to the main blog but deserves to be shown.
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