Day 24: Moeraki Boulders in New Zealand - Dunedin - Oamaru
To visit Moeraki Boulders It was one of the reasons to make this trip to New Zealand in 36 days and today finally, after two days making a route through the places to see in Los Catlins and yesterday a tour of the places to see in Southland, we are going to Be able to enjoy this amazing place!
We get up a little later than usual, travel days are beginning to be noticed and our goal today can only be visited at certain times, when there is low tide and a few hours before and after, when it's 9 o'clock for breakfast, pick things up and say goodbye to Moeraki Village Holiday Park our accommodation in Moeraki tonight.
With the day much clearer than we thought and the forecast said, we put our motorhome Jucy in motion and travel the 6 kilometers that separate us from one of the essential places to see in New Zealand.
Remember that if you are interested in making a route through New Zealand by motorhome, we recommend you look at the Motorhome Republic page where you can see all the available motorhome options, prices and make the reservation directly.
Moeraki in New Zealand
Although the name Moeraki refers to a small fishing village, probably everyone associates this name, which means "sleeping sky", to another place, close, but totally different: Moeraki Boulders or giant balls from New Zealand.
Inside the Moeraki Boulders Scenic Reserve we find this set of large and impressive rocks, nestled on the beach, with a perfect spherical shape, some of them 2 meters in diameter and several tons in weight.
The Maori legend tells that these giant stones are the pumpkins that fell from the Araiteuri canoe, when shipwrecked it faces this coast of the South Island of New Zealand but the scientists go a little further and explain that this is an erosion process, which has taken more than 60 million years and has turned these rocks of mud and calcite into incredible stone balls.
We like the first explanation much more, but we will not deny that the second one is much more credible ...
Moeraki Boulders
Strolling along the beach, dodging Moeraki Boulders formations, while enjoying and being surprised in equal parts, we assure you, it is one of the most unforgettable sensations and experiences that you will take from New Zealand.
And although it is an incredibly recommendable experience, we want to leave you some tips to make this much more pleasant.
Moeraki Boulders
More practical information to prepare your trip to New Zealand
- 10 essential tips for traveling to New Zealand
- 10 essential places to see in New Zealand
- The best travel insurance for New Zealand
Tips for visiting Moeraki Boulders
- As we said yesterday, you have to keep in mind that to visit Moeraki Boulders, you have to coincide with low tide or two hours before or after, in order to see the formations in full.
If you do it at high tide, if it is also bad weather, it is very likely that they will not let you approach this point on the beach for safety.
You can check the status of the tides on Google or on the Metservice page.
Moeraki Boulders
- To get to Moeraki Boulders you have two options: leave the car in the main parking and walk for about 5-10 minutes along the beach until you reach the rock formations or go to the parking lot of the restaurant / shop / visitor center, which is right next to the formations, leave the car there, go to the viewpoint and then go down the stairs to reach the stone balls.
This last option is not free and you will have to pay 5NZD per person as a will.
- We recommend you leave the car in the main parking lot, walk along the beach, arrive at Moeraki Boulders, make the visit and go up the restaurant to see the viewpoint, then return by the road / interior road to the main parking lot It is more than 1 kilometer.
This is not for not paying, it is for avoiding organized groups, which go directly to the restaurant with buses and also for making a circular tour, much more enjoyable and that will allow you to have different perspectives of the place.
Moeraki Boulders in New Zealand
- If you agree to visit Moeraki Boulders at low tide or two hours before or after the first thing in the morning or late in the afternoon, it is the perfect option. Keep in mind that organized groups usually arrive around 10 in the morning and although they do not usually stay long, they invade the place.
Moeraki Boulders
- As we said before, at high tide you have to be very careful, especially if the weather is bad, as it can be dangerous. In case you find yourself in this situation and you cannot go at another time, the best thing to do is to go down the inner road to the restaurant and from there see the formations from the viewpoint.
- Another option, if the weather is good and you have a few extra hours, is to make the 6-kilometer walk along the coast, from the town of Moeraki to the formations. Is beautiful!
Moeraki Boulders
We leave you a map with the locations of the places to see in Moeraki, so you can fully enjoy this amazing place in New Zealand.
It is 12:30 in the morning when after being able to enjoy Moeraki Boulders, with an unbeatable time, we return to our motorhome after an impromptu coffee, enjoying incredible views, make way to the next destination of the day; Dunedin at 1 hour or so and 70 kilometers and where we arrive when it is 2 in the afternoon.
Before continuing with the travel diary, we want to make special mention of the route we have been doing since yesterday through this area of New Zealand.
The logic would have been that after visiting Nugget Point yesterday, we had made a route today through the Otago Peninsula and then approached Dunedin, the next day go to Moeraki Boulders and Oamaru and follow the itinerary to the Pukaki and Tekapo Lakes.
Due to bad weather, we have repeatedly reversed this order, making the same route several times, looking for the best weather to enjoy all the places with sunshine.
What to see in Dunedin
Known for being one of the most atmospheric cities in New Zealand, we cannot forget that this is where one of the most famous universities in the country is located, Dunedin is also known as the Edinburgh of the South Island, due to its Scottish past.
In addition to this, it is also the gateway to the Otago Peninsula and the end of the Southern Scenic Road, which we have traveled these days.
Although after having been here for a few hours, we believe that it is not a essentialYes, we would recommend stopping even a couple of hours to walk around the center and approach at least your train station.
Dunedin train station
Built in the early 1900s, this station is, they say, the most photographed building in the country and one of the most visited.
Made with basaltic stone, the mosaics and stained glass inside stand out.
Dunedin train station
Baldwin Street
Although we did not go, this is the steepest residential street in the world, according to the Guiness Book and it has also become one of the most photographed places in the city.
With time already quite against and when it is 6 pm, we decided to make a new change of plans and go to Oamaru, although this will force us to make the journey back to Moeraki Boulders, where we were this morning.
The decision comes only for the weather forecast, since it is an area where it seems that it will hold the sun a little more and being also a good place to see blue penguins, we do not want to miss the opportunity, although that involves doing several kilometers of more.
In case you want to spend the night in Dunedin, you can do it in the Thomas Burnn car park, where on Sundays you can park all day for free, and you can also spend the night in the place. There are not many services, but there is a small sink, garbage and bathrooms. This is one of the most recommended places in the city if you want to sleep for free with a self-contained vehicle.
And so, with this idea, we travel the 115 kilometers that separate us from the city, where we go directly to the Oamaru Harbor Tourist Park, our accommodation in Oamaru tonight, which is also right next to the port and the area where you can See penguins.
Oamaru
This campsite, with all the comforts for 50NZD for two people, has electricity and as a curiosity in addition to being next to the penguin colony, at night you can see some going through the campsite.
Camping Oamaru
But our luck seems to be like time and although we had crossed our fingers, it could not be. Although we have tried, if in the area of the colony or at the campsite we have been able to see them, so after dinner and rest for a while, we say goodbye to New Zealand, hoping that tomorrow, the weather will accompany us.
Although, as we mentioned earlier, today's route has not had a logical sense, due to the weather and wanting to see everything possible with sunshine, we have made the same route several times.
The logical sense would have been: yesterday to have visited the Otago Peninsula with Dunedin, today to have visited Moeraki Boulders and slept in Omaru, for example, for tomorrow to follow the route to Lake Pukaki and Lake Tekapo.
Day 25: Oamaru - Tunnel Beach and the Otago Peninsula - Lake Pukaki - Lake Tekapo
