Putangirua Pinnacles - Wairarapa

Putangirua Pinnacles - Wairarapa

Putangirua Pinnacles lookout
Originally uploaded by mchnz.

Rain erodes the sand exposing rocks deposited in the gravel beds of an old flood plain that first began to form 10 million year ago.

This photo of the Putangirua pinnacles was taken from the lookout. Most people walk up the stream bed and completely miss this lookout which is part of the bush walk. If you have the time and energy, it's worth viewing the pinnacles from both vantage points.

The Putangirua Pinnacles feature in Peter Jackson's movie version of "The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King", they can be seen at the beginning of trek into the "Paths of the Dead."

More images of the Putangirua Pinnacles are available on my flickr pages - just click on the image to be taken there.