Geo-Vistas Preview

High Country Landscape. Car Park. No walking required.

Next to SH8 – very near to the boundary between the Waitaki and Central Otago Districts – take in the beauty of this high-country mountainous landscape. The driving route to this lookout point is stunning in and of itself.

Formed from the collision of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates, the mountains of the Geopark are still being uplifted today – at a rate of up to 10mm/year. The erosion of these mountains feed sediment into our ecologically rich braided rives, such as the Waitaki River.

GEOSITE

Lake and glacial landscape. Car Park. No walking required. Take care as the Alps 2 Ocean Cycle Trail runs across the base of the lake here,

From the Twizel–Omarama Road (SH8), turn west onto Lake Ohau Road and follow it towards the lake.

The route crosses the active Ostler Fault – which is visible in aerial imagery. As the road nears Lake Ohau, it passes over undulating moraines left behind by retreating glaciers.

Please refer to the following websites: the Department of Conservation - Lake Ohau Track, and Alps 2 Ocean Cycle Trail

Lake and mountain views and engineering sties. Car Park. Walk required. Please see the Department of Conservation website listed below for details of the walk.

This Department of Conservation circuit track leads you through forestry to a peninsula offering views of mountains and lakes. The lakes were formed when the Waitaki River was dammed to produce hydroelectricity. Enjoy expansive views of the lake and mountains!

Views of the Valley and braided river. Steep uphill and return downhill walking required.

Enter from the end of Grey Street and please be aware that the walk is on a working farm, please shut all gates and remain of the formed track.

A steady climb leads to one of Waitaki's best views. Take a break on one of the comfy sofas as you make your way up Kurow Hill, then enjoy panoramic views across the Waitaki Valley and the braided Waitaki River.

Car park. Some walking required.

Please be aware: Several stream crossings are unbridged, so be prepared to walk through shallow water over uneven, rocky creek beds. Always check the water depth before crossing and never attempt to cross if the stream is flooded. Some sections of track can also be steep, rough or muddy. Note – there are different track options at this site - ‘Advanced Tramping Track’ and - ‘Easy to Intermediate Walking Track’. Choose your track with care.

Explore Trotters Gorge, where native bush, birdsong and towering cliffs make every walk memorable. Listen for native birds like the kārearea (New Zealand falcon), and keep an eye out for native galaxiid fish in the clear streams. Climb a little higher for spectacular views stretching from the mountains to the sea.

Suggested visit time: 0.5 hour - 1 hour

There’s a parking bay on Island Cliff-Duntroon Road and a signposted gate that gives you access to an easy 5-minute walk across the farmland.

Elephant Rocks are geological marvels exposed by erosion, set amongst picturesque farmland. Don’t forget your camera as you wander through these towering limestone rocks. A geological wonder of the Waitaki, this unique landscape has featured in films such as The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Elephant Rocks features distinctive large hummocky or elephant-shaped limestone outcrops. The “elephants” are formed from Otekaike Limestone, which originated as a fossil-rich marine sand around 25 million years ago. The thick and flat-lying limestone has many joints, or cracks, caused by the land being lifted. These joints, which cross each other, are eroded by water. Eventually, enough limestone is eroded away to leave the “elephants” exposed and isolated from each other.

Elephant Rocks is on private land. Please respect this special place and take care not to cause damage. Please go quietly if animals are present and remember to shut the gates. You can help care for this site. Please pick up any rubbish. Tread lightly and leave no trace.

Please be aware the following hazards include: traffic, slippery surface when wet, uneven surface, fall hazards, and farming activities.

Suggested visit time: 0.5 hour

There’s a parking bay on Island Cliff-Duntroon Road and a signposted gate that gives you access to an easy 5-minute walk across the farmland. The Alps 2 Ocean Cycle Trail passes through this gully.

Discover fascinating limestone features that have been exposed and eroded over the years with fossils of ancient whales protruding from stone. With views over picturesque farmland this was the scene for Aslan's Camp in the film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It’s a beautiful photo opportunity.

The land you are standing on was once under the sea. Many animals and plants lived and died on this prehistoric seafloor. Over a few million years, shell fragments from these creatures compacted to become limestone, while bones from vertebrates (such as whales, dolphins and penguins) became preserved within the sediment. The limestone here is from the late Oligocene Epoch, formed 23 - 25 million years ago. Our landmass - Zealandia - was then mostly a submerged continent with only a series of small islands remaining above sea level. New Zealand is now emergent. In the last 20+ million years the limestone has been uplifted and eroded - exposing the baleen whale and other fossils.

You are looking at the remains of an ancient baleen whale. Some baleen whales are over 15 metres long. This one was probably five to six metres long. Baleen whales are filter feeders, they sieve a lot of sea water each day to collect small animals to eat (these prey animals are only a few centimetres long). The fossil whale is distantly related to modern baleen whales and died millions of years ago.

With views over picturesque farmland this was the scene for Aslan's Camp in the film - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It’s a beautiful photo opportunity.

Anatini is on private land. Please respect this special place and take care not to cause damage. Please go quietly if animals are present and remember to shut the gates. You can help care for this site. Please pick up any rubbish. Tread lightly and leave no trace.

Please be aware the following hazards include: narrow pathway, steep drop-off by fossil site, slippery surface when wet, uneven surface and steps, pipe at the bottom of the gate leading to fossil, falling debris / rocks/ blocks from above, and farming activities.

Suggested visit time: 0.5 hour - 1hour

Harbour Street, Ōamaru

The beautiful heritage buildings in the Harbour Street precinct house a variety of galleries, shops, new and traditional crafts. The intact limestone buildings are unique to Ōamaru.

Take a journey through time as you explore the fascinating heritage of Ōamaru. It’s like taking a step into the past. Get a photo of yourself on a Victorian penny-farthing bicycle and visit The Victorian Wardrobe to dress yourself up in old-time clothes.

Make sure to visit Whitestone City, an immersive, interactive heritage experience where you can explore and play with Victorian exhibits that bring history to life.

Or eat and shop your way down the street and back again. There’s a lot packed into this beautiful street.

You can also take a 90-minute easy-paced Ōamaru Heritage Walking Tour through Ōamaru's Victorian Precinct. Contact Helen Stead, your guide, on helenstead18@gmail.com to book. $25/person ⁠

Suggested visit time: 0.5 hour - 1 hour

Harbour Terrace, Kakanui.Just 10 minutes south of Ōamaru via Beach Road.

Kakanui is a beachside village and the surrounding area is well-known for its rich and fertile soils with many market gardens in the local area. You'll find a good selection of seasonal produce available for purchase on roadside stalls. Local talk has it that Kakanui potatoes and tomatoes are among the best in the world.

Campbells Bay is immediately south of the headland in Kakanui and provides a surf-able break and a safe swimming beach.

The beach is around 2km long and the Southern end is known as All Day Bay and provides a more sheltered spot for swimming.

Hector's dolphins will often be seen playing in the waves and can be spotted right along the Kakanui coastline. There are occasional leopard seal sightings as well. They are large and pale-coloured and can be fairly aggressive. So if you see one, keep your distance!

An impressive geological sequence is also visible at Campbells Bay. Here you can see the Ototara Limestone dipping impressively down beach. The outcrop is heavily cemented. The interesting holes in the limestone are actually shrimp burrows that were further eroded and enlarged around 30 million years ago.

Walking further up-beach you can see older underlying material including volcanic tuff.

Public toilets available.

Please be aware the following hazards include: tides, wildlife, sharp and slippery rock underfoot, and falling debris from cliffs. Tsunami risk – if an earthquake is strong or long, get gone.

Suggested visit time: 0.5 hour - 1 hour

Moeraki Boulders are signposted on State Highway 1, three kilometres south of Hampden.Stroll along the beach from Moeraki Boulders Scenic Reserve carpark and picnic area. Alternatively, take the track directly to the beach from the cafe at the end of a private road. Or take a short loop track (150 metres) from the cafe to view the boulders from above. These tracks are suitable for pushchairs but not wheelchairs, as they start with several steps.

Walk amongst geological marvels, exposed by the erosion of surrounding mudstone laid down around 60 million years ago.

Local Māori oral history explain these strangely large and spherical boulders as the remains of eel baskets, calabashes, and kumara washed ashore from the wreck of Ārai-te-uru, a large sailing canoe. The rocky shoals that extend seaward from Matakaea Shag Point are the petrified hull of this wreck and a nearby rocky headland is the body of the canoe's captain.

The Moeraki Boulders are a famous attractive destination for a reason. These striking round rocks can reach up to 3 metres in diameter and weigh several tones whilst the smaller boulders can resemble an over inflated football. These boulders have formed backdrops to photographs for over a century. Beyond the immediate visual appeal is a fascinating geological story.

The boulders at Moeraki and Matakaea Shag Point formed in ancient seafloor muds between 55 and 70 million years ago. Each boulder started life as a pebble or fossil on an ancient seafloor. Over time these 'grew' by mud accretion and calcification. These boulders have been exposed through coastline erosion from coastal cliffs. Even today, there are still boulders remaining in the mudstone that will, sooner or later, fall on to the beach as they come loose due to erosion!

These striking spherical rocks have formed a spectacular backdrop to photos, so don’t forget your camera. Early in the morning is a good time to visit as the beach can get crowded later in the day. It can also be the best time to photograph the boulders as the light from the sunrise hits these striking formations

The Moeraki Boulders Cafe offers takeaway or sit down meals with beautiful ocean views, and there is a gift shop featuring souvenirs, clothing and jewellery from New Zealand artists and crafts people. Open 7 days a week, 8.30am – 3pm. Toilets are available.

The Moeraki Boulders are best to be visited at low tide. Check out the tide times on the Metservice website.

Suggested visit time: 1 hour

Arrive via Lighthouse Road in Moeraki Village. Kātiki Point is the southern part of the Kātiki Peninsula.

See the historic Katiki Point Lighthouse, which still operates today, and wander up the hill to the Te Raka a Hineatea Pā site. A pā is a terraced Māori hill-fort; a very important settlement site for local Māori. The reserve is vested in Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu who manage the reserve in conjunction with Te Rūnanga o Moeraki. For more information about Māori settlement and management of this area, visit the Ōtākou Runaka website.

Kātiki is a breeding ground for marine wildlife including fur seals and the critically endangered yellow-eyed penguin. A variety of sea and shore birds breed here: little blue penguin/kororā, yellow-eyed penguin/hoiho, sooty shearwater/tītī, diving petrel, red-billed gull/tarapuka, spotted shag/koau pāteketeke, white-fronted tern/tara, and the variable oystercatcher/tōrea pango. When viewing the wildlife, please maintain your distance, do not use flash photography and be respectful at all times.

The reserve is closed overnight.

Suggested visit time: 1.5 hour

Start your journey up the hill from the old railway station or the lookout carpark, just off State Highway 1, Palmerston.

Puketapu means “sacred hill” in Māori and offers stunning 360 degree vistas over Palmerston township, rolling farmland down the Shag Valley and out to sea. It’s easily visible as you arrive because of the standing stone monument on top of the hill.

Puketapu is a short and sweet uphill climb. Choose from a couple of routes - clamber up the face or follow the posts which mark an easier route - winding around the back of the hill. Although it can be steep, the track is well formed and you will be rewarded with stunning views at the top!

Enjoy a picnic lunch on the benches at the top or climb the stairs and stand atop the monument. The monument is a memorial to Sir John McKenzie, a local agricultural figure from the 19th century.

Every year in October, locals run a race called “Kelly’s Canter” where they run up Puketapu and down again, with record times sitting at around 20 minutes to get up and back. The race is in remembrance of local constable Bert Kelly, who during World War II would regularly run up Puketapu on coastal watch for enemy ships.

While you're welcome to try and beat that heroic time of 20 minutes, we suggest a good hour to enjoy it at a leisurely pace.

The track is open all year except during lambing season (September - November).

Well done. That’s the end of the tour. We hope you’ve enjoyed seeing some of the great Geo-Vistas the Waitaki has to offer.

If you’d like to learn more about what's in the Waitaki, including places to stay and to eat, go to Tourism Waitaki website.