The well-publicized Moeraki Boulders are certainly unique. Since they are about the oddest thing you’ll find on a beach anywhere in the world, the boulders are worth a stop no matter how tourist-adverse you may be. Expect a crowd—walking up the beach towards the boulders feels a bit like Coromandel’s Hot water Beach—a heap of tourists all clustered around a small area on a vast beach. Surprisingly, Moeraki’s Beach (Hampden) is about 8km long, but the boulders only inhabit about 100 meters of it! Few people venture any further than the boulders, but a 20- minute walk north is well worth it. Farther along the beach eroded boulder bits artistically litter the sand and the cliff face is actually giving birth to a handful of baby Moerakis. Mid-tide or lower is the best time to see/climb/examine the boulders, and to walk up the beach to find more bits of interest.
At the Moeraki boulders there’s a cliff-top café which features a sunny deck that’s a great vantage to get some chips and watch for the daily Hector’s dolphins visits.
Katiki Point Lighthouse and Penguins. Moeraki Village is signed 1km south of the boulders. Just 1km in turn right for a 5km gravel road to the lighthouse. The main interest at the lighthouse is the Yellow-eyed Penguin “hide” at Hide Bay. A steep path quickly escorts you into the Hide where windows and binoculars overlook a small penguin nesting beach cove. 5- 6pm is penguin Happy-Hour. The penguins go out hunting all day and return at happy hour to pop up onto the rocks, preen and dry off, then hop and waddle up the short beach to their hidden nests. This is one of the best spots to see penguin action on the entire coast, and surprisingly, only a wee percentage of Moeraki’s daily hordes know of it. Last time I was there, from 4:30 to 6pm I saw 8 penguins!
There’s also a 10-minute track out to the point that’s worth it—lots of seals and shags everywhere, and maybe an up-close and personal with a penguin, since the penguins actually walk the tracks here! The Katiki penguins are all descendants of penguins who were cared-for by the dedicated couple who established this colony site. Thus, these penguins matured with people around, as did their offspring, so on and so on…nowadays the penguins actually breed in burrows along the track, and can be seen strolling the paths often in the daylight! Katiki Pt is truly an amazing penguin-riffic spot that few travelers know about!! (At noon one day I saw 7 penguins—an adult on the track, 2 young in nest holes, and 3 fledglings just hanging out).
Moeraki Village. The village is one of NZ’s oldest from 1836. There’s a wharf, pub, Holiday Park, and the famed Fleur’s restaurant. Turn up Haverford Rd at the Holiday Park for a short drive up the Whaler’s Lookout, a 150-year memorial viewpoint where a plaque details the village’s history.
To investigate an interesting beach cove sprinkled with odd low-tide rocks and neat orange pebble-sand, go past the wharf to the road-end helisite and walk the Pa path then go up and over the dirt hill (not the stairway to Whaler’s Lookout). Careful of seals at the far end of the beach—they’ll roar if you surprise them!
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A MUST SEE!!