Elephant Rocks

About this place

The Elephant Rocks are a group of large weathered limestone boulders near the village of Duntroon in New Zealand, on a private farm 5 km south of Duntroon in the Maerewhenua Valley and about 34 km in a straight line north-west of Oamaru. The wider Duntroon area is known for its interesting geology and preserved fossils. The rocks are weathered remnants of the Otekaike Limestone, which lies above the Oligocene Kokoamu Greensand. They range from 1 to 10 m across and are scattered naturally over a grassy paddock on a gentle hillside about 200 m wide. They do not actually look like elephants; they are named after a circus elephant that died here in 1868 while being walked from Dunedin to Christchurch. The pale grey rocks, rounded and pitted by weathering, look like natural sculptures strewn across green grass, with sheep grazing among them and hills and a wide valley behind. Low light in the morning and evening brings out their hollows and shadows. Visiting is free, but the farm is private, so respect the stock, close the gates and do not climb the fragile rocks. It combines easily with the rest of the geological trail around Duntroon.