Putangirua Pinnacles
Out for a hike on a dreary day at the Putangirua Pinnacles, Cape Pailliser.
The Pinnacles are a tightly packed cluster of ancient gravel spires in a forest park. The 'badlands erosion' of Putangirua Pinnacles is a spectacular landscape feature attracting many visitors to the southern Wairarapa.
When the Aorangi Range was an island, 7 to 9 million years ago, screes poured gravels onto the coast, much as they do today around Cape Palliser. The Putangirua Stream has exposed this ancient layer of gravels to the erosive forces of rain and floods. Where cemented silts or rocks within the gravel beds prove more resistant than the underlying sediments, spectacular individual pinnacles or “hoodoos” are formed.
The eerie scenes in The Return of the King as Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli ride along the Dimholt Road to meet the Army of the Dead were filmed against the surreal backdrop of the Pinnacles.
Putangirua Pinnacles
Out for a hike on a dreary day at the Putangirua Pinnacles, Cape Pailliser.
The Pinnacles are a tightly packed cluster of ancient gravel spires in a forest park. The 'badlands erosion' of Putangirua Pinnacles is a spectacular landscape feature attracting many visitors to the southern Wairarapa.
When the Aorangi Range was an island, 7 to 9 million years ago, screes poured gravels onto the coast, much as they do today around Cape Palliser. The Putangirua Stream has exposed this ancient layer of gravels to the erosive forces of rain and floods. Where cemented silts or rocks within the gravel beds prove more resistant than the underlying sediments, spectacular individual pinnacles or “hoodoos” are formed.
The eerie scenes in The Return of the King as Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli ride along the Dimholt Road to meet the Army of the Dead were filmed against the surreal backdrop of the Pinnacles.