Putangirua Pinnacles photos

About

The Putangirua Pinnacles (The Pinnacles) are located in the Aorangi Range in south Wairarapa, New Zealand. They are an example of badlands erosion where a number of gravel pillars or hoodoos rise up from the valley floor. These pillars are created by layers of gravel that have been laid down by rivers in the past, then compressed by sea when the sea level was higher, and eroded by the Putangirua River at today’s sea level.

Entrance to The Pinnacles is from Cape Palliser Road which runs along the south coast of Wairarapa, near Lake Ferry. There is a camping ground at the reserve and a number of walking tracks. You can combine two walks to do a three hour round trip which allows you to walk among the pinnacles and to also get an expansive view from a lookout.

This location featured in the ‘Paths of the Dead’ scene in the award winning ‘Return of the King’, the third movie in Peter Jackson’s trilogy, Lord of the Rings.