On our way to Dunnedin we made a brief detour to the Moeraki Boulders, a scientific reserve on Koekohe beach. The boulders are septarian concretions that formed in the sea floor sediments 60 million years ago. They are now emerging out of the black mudstone that makes up the majority of the cliffs along the beach. Each spherical boulder was released from the mudstone through coastal errosion and now they litter the beach like gigantic marbles. The Maori legend says the boulders are the remains of calabashes, kumra and eel baskets from the legendary canoe Araiteuru which was wrecked on Shag Point (Matakaea).
The Moeraki reserve is quite popular with travellers and New Zealanders and when we arrived at mid-morning the beach was thronged with people. We spent an hour poking around the boulders but had to leave when bus-loads of photohappy tourists showed up.
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