At the Moeraki Boulders Scenic Reserve, Otago

Moeraki Boulders: a geologic curiosity...

The final place we visited on our campervan trip to the Catlin's was at the Moeraki Boulders Scenic Reserve. This is the home of the Moeraki Boulders the famous rock concretions that litter the beach here...

Moeraki boulders on Moeraki Beach

Let us have a look at the geologic curiosity that is the Moeraki Boulder field...

At Moeraki Beach:

Karen and I were staying at Moeraki on our way back north to Christchurch where we live. We stayed at the campground in the Moeraki Settlement which is about 60 odd kilometers north of Dunedin. The campground was ok and had good views down to the beach the Moeraki Boulders sit on

View of Moeraki Bay from the campground

We arrived in Moeraki late on the previous afternoon so we decided to visit the boulders the next day.

Map: Moeraki Settlement and Moeraki Beach

 Early the next morning we drove around to the carpark at the start of the tracks down to Moeraki Beach. There is a café, gift shop and stairway here which will take you down to the beach. 

At the start of the Moeraki Boulder Walk

Moeraki Boulder Walk has a $2 cost...

We had breakfast at the café before walking to the Boulders and I can highly recommend the Moeraki Boulders Cafe.  It was delicious and the staff there were friendly and keen to help. 

They had some nice looking cabinet food and a all day menu. I had the full English breakfast while Karen had scrambled eggs and bacon and both were top notch. Karen thought the coffee was good (...I am no connoisseur so I never judge coffee...). 

Moeraki Boulder Cafe, Moeraki Beach

Just outside of the café is a set of stairs and a short track down to Moeraki Beach and the boulder sittng on the sand. This walkway was built by the café owners so there is a nominal $2.00 fee for using the stairs. If you are not keen on this fee there is a slightly longer DOC track along the clifftops to a set of stairs about 600 meters down the beach.

It is about 600 meters to the Moeraki Boulders

Descending to Moeraki Beach from the café

The track to the beach is about 10 meters long and is well maintained and easy to walk on. It is the most direct way to access the beach...you can walk along the beach from Moeraki or use the longer DOC track as alternates. 

First view of Moeraki Beach from the track

Moeraki Boulder Walk, Moeraki

...stairs descend onto Moeraki Beach...

Once you reach the shoreline there is a walk of about 400 meters along Moeraki Beach to the first of the Boulders. You can only access the beach at low tide as the ocean comes in almost to the sandy cliffs here. There is a narrow band of beach and you can walk from here to Moeraki Settlement and north along the beach for about five kilometers.

Head north along Moeraki Beach to the boulders

View south to Moeraki Settlement and Moeraki Head

The Moeraki Boulders are a very rare geologic phenomenon...they are perfect round concretions of rock about the size of a small refrigerator. My understanding is that there are only a half dozen other places in the world where these rocks exist and that Moeraki is the largest and easiest to access. 

Moeraki boulders on Moeraki Beach

The rocks formed in prehistoric times when mineral salts and dissolved chemicals formed around some organic matter. The stones gradually absorb the chemicals from the surrounding soil forming the outer rock until the organic matter at their center decomposes. 

The boulders rest in the sub soil until erosion exposes them at which point they too begin to erode...

...the Moeraki Boulders are limestone concretions...

Closer view of a boulder at Moeraki Beach

Many of the boulders are veined with Calcite a luminescent type of rock that glows when UV light is shone onto it. The veins are softer than the surrounding rock so over time they dissolve and cause the rocks to fracture and break into smaller and smaller pieces. 

The Moeraki boulders are veined with Calcite

Eventually the boulders shatter and the pieces are carried away by the ocean and deposited on nearby beaches...

...eventually the boulder starts to disintegrate...

...fully shattered boulder at Moeraki Beach...

There are over 100 boulders along Moeraki Beach but the greatest concentration is about 400 meters along the beach from the café stairs. There would be around 30 boulders here with numbers strewn over the beach, at the surf line and even a few emerging from the ancient soil of the nearby cliffs. 

Line of boulders on the beach at Moeraki

...tidal forces have deposited the boulders on Moeraki Beach...

Karen taking some photos of the Moeraki Boulders

The boulders are smooth when they emerge from the cliffs but soon become pitted from the action of the waves, blown sand and rain. They are colonized by small mussels and barnacles which adhere to the outer surface.  They will invade any cracks in the rocks and as they grow help in the process of shattering them. 

Boulder at Moeraki with a covering of shellfish

Tiny Mussels and barnacles on a Moeraki Boulder

A few of the boulders have shattered in such a way that they form natural bowls which fill with sea water at high tide. When the tide recedes it leaves them exposed and small numbers of anemones, shellfish and even crabs live inside. 

Moeraki Boulder...this one is hollow

This boulder at Moeraki is filled with tepid sea water

Some of the boulders have seaweed growing on and around them and when the tide is in the weed would swirl in the currents. 

Seaweed adores the top of a boulder at Moeraki Beach

Half buried boulders at Moeraki Beach

The Moeraki Boulders were a major tourist attraction before Covid but we almost had the beach to ourselves the day we visited. No doubt now the country is open for visitors they will slowly regain numbers...they had nearly 1 million visitors in 2018-2019!!!

A prefusion of boulders strewn along Moeraki Beach

Moeraki Settlement is just south of the boulders

If you look at the cliffs at the back of Moeraki Beach you can see examples of new boulders emerging from the soil. There is no knowing how many of these boulders exist in the land behind the beach but surely hundreds if not thousands must have been eroded away since they were formed many millions of years ago. 

Boulder emerges from the cliffs at Moeraki Beach

These Boulders are considered a Taonga or national treasure and the fines for damaging them or removing them are hefty. In the past boulders were removed form the beach and sent to museums around the world but thankfully this has now ceased. 

Be assured if a Kiwi sees you messing around with them you will probably get a swift boot up the arse...!

DOC sign near the start of the Moeraki Forest Walk

There are hefty fines for damaging the Moeraki Boulders

As I said earlier these boulders continue right along this beach and looking north from the stairs you could see examples out on the beach for quite some distance. 

Boulders continue to dot Moeraki Beach

Last view south before leaving Moeraki Beach

Once you are finished looking at the Moeraki Boulders you have two options for returning to the carpark. Either walk back down the beach to the café stairs or climb the stairs at this end of the beach and walk back along the Forest Walk. 

Staircase to the forest Walk at Moeraki Beach

The Forest Walk links Moeraki Beach with the café

The Forest Walk is a short 600 meter long DOC track along the top of the cliffs and back to the café. There is a gentle climb at the start but after the first 100 meters it is flater as you walk along the clifftops The track here is wide and well maintained and this is a wheelchair friendly way to view the boulders. 

On the Forest Walk at Moeraki Beach

DOC sign near the Moeraki Boulders

The Forest Walk is through an area of replanted Coastal Podocarp forest and it is lined on both side by native trees, bushes and grasses. Eventually the trees will get tall enough to form a canopy over the track and this will be a green tunnel of vegetation.  

Forest Walk heading down to Moeraki Beach

There are native trees along the Moeraki Forest Walk

About 100 meters up the track is a clear spot in the forest and you can see out and down to the beach below. There is a group of boulders clearly visible on the beach and you can see about a dozen of them. 

View of Moeraki Boulders from the Forest Walk

Closer view of Moeraki Boulders from above

The forest was thick and dense as is usual along the coast and there was a pleasant smell from one of the tree species there. Not too sure what it was but it was sweet and blue gum like....almost like Eucalyptus. 

It was very nice.

Coastal forest on the track above Moeraki Beach

The benched Forest Walk at Moeraki is shady

After 400 odd meters you come to a clearing around some old farm buildings. The track continues from here for the final 200 meters in the open...

End of the forest section of Moeraki Forest Walk

Farmland along the Moeraki Forest Walk

There are a couple of old farm implements here...one was a threshing machine while the other was some sort of plow or planter machine. The area around Moeraki is sheep, cattle and horse raising land...it is too dry, salty and cold for growing crops or dairy farming except much further inland. 

Farm implement along the Moeraki Forest Walk

Eventually we get to the end of the Forest Walk just beside the shop next to the café. It was a nice trip to the Moeraki Boulders and if you were in a hurry the whole thing could be done in less than 30 minutes. Of course spending a little more time gives you the opportunity to study the rocks in more detail so I certainly wouldn't rush. 

Moeraki Cafe comes into view...Forest Walk

The end of the Moeraki Forest Walk

From Moeraki we drove north to Christchurch taking turns to drive the campervan as we had to get it back to the depot before 4.30 that afternoon. It was a close run thing as we got to the Britz office at the airport at 4.20pm...

Our trusty Britz motorised home at Pounawea

Our campervan trip for 2022 was excellent...we saw a lot of places and although we had hiccups here and there overall it was a lovely time. We have already talked about possible trip locations for 2023 and were thinking the lower North Island or Bay of Islands. 

We will have to see what happens...

Access: Moeraki is 67 kilometers north of Dunedin on SH 1 the main road from Christchurch to Invercargill. It is roughly halfway between Dunedin and Oamaru. Look for obvious signs for Moeraki Boulder Cafe 2 kilometers before the turn off to Moeraki Settlement.
Miscellaneous:  There is a café, gift shop and toilets at the Moeraki Boulders Cafe at the start of the track. There is a $2 fee to use the café track to the beach but there is also access to a DOC track which heads 600 meters along the cliff tops to a set of stairs to the beach. 

YouTube: Moeraki Boulders Scenic Reserve