Pūtangirua Pinnacles

About this place

The Pūtangirua Pinnacles are a geological formation at the head of a valley in the Aorangi Range, Wairarapa, on New Zealand's North Island, about 32 km southwest of Martinborough in a straight line. They are one of New Zealand's best examples of badlands erosion, made up of many earth pillars or hoodoos. Some 7 to 9 million years ago the Aorangi Range was an island, and large alluvial fans of gravel formed on its southern shores. The sea later covered them, and after the ice ages the water retreated, exposing the deposits to wind and rain. Where a cap of cemented silt or rock protects the gravel beneath, tall pillars formed, fluted by rainwater during storms. They are thought to be less than 125,000 years old and are eroding at about 1 cm a year. Sharp grey pillars rise like giant organ pipes on both sides of a dry gravel streambed, with green forest along the valley rims. The place feels like another world, and scenes from well-known films were shot here. Visitors walk from the car park and campsite up the gravel streambed to the foot of the pillars, and another track climbs through the forest to a lookout above them. Walking on gravel is a little tiring, and the stream can rise after rain, so avoid visiting in storms.