Moeraki

We were going to be meeting our friends in Dunedin to ring in the new year. So in studying the map I realized that there was only a short stretch of shore highway between Dunedin and Moeraki that kept us from being able to make the claim that we had driven every mile of coastal highway on the South Island. That could not stand. So we decided that our next course of action would be to drive from Gore, through Dunedin and on up the highway to Moeraki. We had made it as far as Moeraki on a previous trip, but from the north. Now to bridge the gap.

Moeraki has a few things going for it; the Moeraki Boulders, yellow eyed penguins and Fleur's Place. We wanted to see all three, so we booked in to a B&B (first/last one for us), it was the only place available (holiday season Dec 25 through Jan).

The Moeraki Boulders
On the beach just north of the village of Moeraki reside the Moeraki boulders. These are incredible huge spherical boulders lying on the beach. The only place in New Zealand that this takes place; maybe the world, I don't know. If you ask a kiwi what they are and where they come from, the answer is always "Nobody knows. Not even the scientists. Maybe space". Bet I can find out.



The Maori Explanation:
The people of the area relate the Moeraki Boulders to the wreck of the great canoe Arai Te Uru. As it was traveling south, the canoe foundered in a storm near Matakaea. Its cargo was washed up on the nearby beaches - the round food baskets and water gourds are the boulders, while the seed kumara are the irregularly shaped boulders further south.

The geologists explanation:
The Moeraki Boulders are septarian concretions. Concretions are hard masses which form in sedimentary rocks. They range in size from small pellets to huge spherical bodies. Some of the Moeraki Boulders are over 2 meters (6 feet) in diameter.

Small amounts of the cementing materials are dissolved in sea water. During the deposition of sediment on the ocean floor, sea water becomes trapped between the sedimentary particles. Decaying organic matter in the sediment, such as shell, bone or plant fragments acts as a nucleus around which the concretionary materials gradually crystallize. The chemical components in the wet sediment migrate toward the nucleus and continue to collect around it until conditions change or the supply runs out. This takes place slowly over thousands or millions of years. If the crystallization of minerals proceeds equally in all directions from the nucleus, the concretion grows in a spherical shape; otherwise a flat or irregular shape occurs.

These concretions were contained in the mudstone cliffs, and as the cliffs eroded, the concretions were left behind.

Can you guess which explanation is my favorite?

Probably not what they had in mind when asked if they'd like to go for a boat ride.

Fleur's Place
Fleur's Place is a restaurant that has a rumble-tumble look about it, but this stylish timber hut serves up some of the South Island's best food. The specialty is seafood, fresh off the boats that are moored only feet away, and it's equally popular among locals for an evening drink and occasional live music. Head for the upstairs deck and smell the ocean while you tuck into fresh chowder, tender mutton bird, or whatever fish the boats caught last night. Sounds great, doesn't it? Keeping in tradition with our typical luck, Fleur decided this would be her first year to close up for the holidays. I would have been stunned if our luck had been otherwise.