It all started about sixty million years ago, a comparative blink of an eye in the history of the world, but long before humans existed. Over the passage of time this interesting and quite impressive natural wonder developed and now, millions of years later exists for us to enjoy.
Located seventy six kilometres north of Dunedin on New Zealand's South Island this natural wonder continues to evolve, or decay is probably a better word, and recently Faith and I visited.
The Moeraki Boulders
Formed by the process of cementation of Paleocene mud-stone and exposed by coastal erosion these boulders are a striking and impactful sight on what otherwise would be just another wave-cut beach on the lower east coast of New Zealand.
The definition of a boulder is a rock fragment with a diameter of greater than 25.6 centimetres and these boulders certainly meet that requirement. Pebbles they are not!
The boulders began forming in the marine mud near the Paleocene sea-floor - The Paleocene geologic epoch began around 60 million years ago. It is estimated that the larger boulders of around 2 metres in diameter took some 5 million years to grow, all the while many metres of marine mud formed above them on the sea-floor, some 50 metres deep.
After they formed the concretions developed cracks called septaria into which seeped brown and yellow calcite, dolomite and quartz; The drop in sea level allowed fresh ground-water to flow through the mud-stone that encased the boulders bringing the minerals with it.
Over the ensuing millions of years the sea receded further and erosion combined with the lower water levels meant the boulders began to make their way upwards and onto the beach as it eroded around them.
The boulders are almost completely spherical and, as you can see in the images, rather large. Above left you can see Faith has climbed on one which easily has a diameter of over 2 metres. The centre image shows them dotting the beach off into the distance and the right is Faith standing inside one!
Over time the septaria, the cracks, containing the brown and yellow calcite, dolomite and quartz has eroded and worn away and as that happens the boulders begin to break open, much like an egg I guess. The cracks weaken and eventually portions of the boulders simply fall out. You can see an example of this in the left and right image above.
I really liked these boulders, as much as a person can like a boulder I mean. They're really nicely shaped, almost totally spherical and the way they're dotted about and seem so out of place leaves the beach with an otherworldly feel. It's a very popular spot though and is visited by tourists and photographers alike and some of the post cards found at the shop above the beach are spectacular...No spectacular photography from me though.
There is a huge car park at the boulders, one that would easily fit RV's and caravans but just a warning, it get's very busy at times...To find the beach deserted like we did is quite rare but naturally way better for photography.
There's a café near the boardwalk down to the beach and a visitor centre and shop which is where I found these curious things pictured below. Methinks those New Zealanders are crazy! 😂 The shop is worth a look though as it's filled with loads of cool things.
Access to the beach is via a board walk and some stairs and a gold coin, $1 or $2 coin, donation is asked for but not enforced. Do it though, that's how they help upkeep the facilities.
It gets cold in New Zealand, but I'm not sure how helpful these nipple warmers would be.
Here's some of the postcards I found at the shop above the beach. As you can see those with skill have a lot to work with around sunrise.
We had planned to drive from Dunedin to the Moeraki boulders specifically to see them although also got a tourist-tip by a local in Dunedin the day prior about a place called Oamaru which is another 37 kilometres north from the boulders. We were really pleased with that as the town has a very cool Victorian Quarter, the old Victorian buildings which are all full of antique and curiosity shops which was really interesting, and there's also a big Steampunk museum there that was super cool. We drove up and investigated, had some lunch and wandered about; I'll write about those later though.
Thanks for stopping by.
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised.
Be well
Discord: galenkp#9209
I love the clouds your travels is awesome, have a great day
Thank you, and I hope you have a nice day, and weekend, also. 🙂
Damn those are some incredible looking boulders and the beach is nice. You got another sweet set of pictures with the water and the sky here.
I love the rock formations like that, I get where you’re coming from. It’s incredible to comprehend the forces that created those things or the time they’ve been in the planet. Just sitting. Chilling. Doing Boulder shit. Must be a dull life sometimes constantly fighting the ocean and losing at first but then kicking its ass.
Big balls bro, big balls doing big ball shit for millions of years...And now we can climb on them! Lol.
When I look back at photos of where we've been and what we've done I often think about all the things I'll never get to see and do...One just can't do it all. The world is full of wonders and I'll see what I can and be content I guess. :)
I love postcards. I think it's something that should be brought back with a vengeance. Before lockdown I was considering doing some for the dive centre and encouraging people to post them on social media when they've arrived. It's cool getting mail
I like getting postcards too...Other mail like bills, not so much.
The thing I like about postcards is that most often it impossible to get the best photos of a place either because of the angle, amount of people, weather or lack of the proper skill and equipment...Grab a post card though...Instant memory to come home with.
You know postcards are another thing us hive members should start sending. Another way to share the world with each other.
I received a postcard from a hive user called @hivelander a while ago which was pretty cool. He had a good little thing going but has since dropped off the face of the earth - Oh well, it happens I guess.
Hey!
How r u Galen?
Yeah, I took a break, after blogging for 3 years as a Mannequin ;-)
https://peakd.com/hive-174578/@hivelander/i-m-pretty-tired-i-think-i-ll-go-home-now
Ah the boulders look amazing! 5 million years.... Imagine.
I must admit that those fluffy warming souvenirs were... Slightly unexpected😂 I think that we should appreciate their ingeniosity though. Not everybody would have thought about nipple warmers lol
!ENGAGE 20
Tourists make easy targets for useless novelty items I guess. I've been around the word and never seen nipple warmers before though, so I thought I'd take a photo. They didn't get my $15 though...My nipples are a constant 32 degrees...Year-round.
Hahahaha I think everybody can relate to that. We are all doing fine without any novelty stuff for that particular area of our body😂
ENGAGEtokens.wooooooooo - so you love to travel?
Yeah, we've been all over the world, and continue to do so.
Are you on discord? i want to connect with you :)
My tag is at the bottom of my posts.
I've been there too but back then shop keepers didn't show me nipple warmers. I could have made a million from selling these to the transgender community 😁
This is true, although I guess every human has nipples so they figure for those that have cold ones this is a good option I guess...I thought it was quite odd, but as it's clearly a novelty item designed for fun I figure why not right? Life is too serious as it is. I wasn't about to spend $15 on some though, but the photo was free.
this guy existed at the time that had started
source
Great photos here Galen and you are correct as one can never see all of the real wonders in this world.
I will tell my father in law (Geologist) to Google " Moeraki boulders" as I am sure that he will also enjoy to have a look at them.
For me personally, I am more interested in the Victorian sights at the town of Oamaru and will wait for your post.
Blessings and hope that you guys will have a good Sunday!
Oamaru was really nice. I'll be honest, I think my photos of the buildings themselves didn't come out so well, but it's a cool little spot, just a small town really, and that Steampunk museum was cool. I'll get a post done sometime.
Ah! Galen the humble G-dog that plays compliments down lol.
We are the same, as I also find faults with my own photos.
Yeah and I sincerely hope that I don't miss that post!
Faith improving?
Yeah Faith is on the mend, at least coming good now, moving about gently but more and more now. Today she left the house to take her mum for her final scan prior to the cancer surgeon appointment on Wednesday. This is D-day for her mum, she'll need to make a decision about the operation on Wednesday, provided the surgeon is happy with the scan. If not it could be a few more weeks although we get the impression the operation is imminent, should she opt in.
Being humble and kind seems to be a nice way to move forward through life...I've always been humble though, I let my real-world actions speak for me, no need to add words.
Well you know that we are praying about the situation and it's out of our and your hands.
Let's hop that the surgeon is happy and that she will opt in.
Glad that Faith is improving and the movements will help her to heal faster.
Agreed with you as it is indeed proven that it's the best way to go through life and our actions reveal who and what we are.
Blessings to you guys!
Great boulders. However, I am not entirely sold on listed benefit of the nipple warmers being "enhanced sex appeal"...lol
Isn't marketing wonderful? They can write whatever they like on the packaging. I guess they're hoping for tourists to come along and pay $15 for the novelty factor...Didn't get $15 out of me though. :)
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Lol, crossover shooting. Precisely!