Your 2026 Guide to the Moeraki Boulders: Tides, Access, History & Photography Tips
Looking for everything you need to know before visiting the Moeraki Boulders? These giant, near perfectly spherical rocks scattered across Koekohe Beach in North Otago are one of New Zealand's most photographed natural wonders, and one of the easiest to get wrong if you turn up at the wrong tide with no plan.
This guide covers exactly what you need for a great visit: when to go for the best tide and light, how the boulders actually formed, the Māori legend behind them, which access point to use, what wildlife you might spot on the beach, and the rules that keep this scientific reserve protected.
If you're considering staying in the area, base yourself right at Moeraki Boulders Holiday Park @ Hampden Beach, a classic Kiwi seaside camp just 1.5km from the boulders a 25-minute walk along the beach at low tide, with powered and non-powered sites, cabins, and its own safe swimming beach and lagoon.
Quick facts for visiting the Moeraki Boulders
- Location: Koekohe Beach, on State Highway 1 between Moeraki and Hampden, North Otago
- Best time to visit: Low tide when the boulders are fully exposed. Check a tide chart before you go
- Cost: Free via the Moeraki Boulders Scenic Reserve car park or a small $2 donation applies via the café’s private entrance
- Distance: About 35km (30 minutes) south of Oamaru, and 75km (1 hour 15 minutes) north of Dunedin
- Bring: Sturdy, grippy shoes (the rocks and beach are uneven and can be slippery), sun protection, and a camera
- Facilities: Toilets and a cafe are available via the Moeraki Boulders Cafe entrance
- Moeraki Boulders Accomodation: If you're wanting to camp locally, you can’t go past the Moeraki Boulders Holiday Park @Hampden Beach. Book your site in advance, especially over summer and holiday weekends and if you are an NZMCA member, you can stay on CampSaver rates.
1) Time your visit around low tide
The biggest factor in a good Moeraki Boulders visit is the tide. At high tide, many of the boulders are submerged. At low tide, the beach opens up, and you can walk right around dozens of boulders and see their true scale. Tides shift by roughly 25-50 minutes each day, so check a tide chart before you set out.
Tip: Aim to arrive in the two to three hours either side of low tide for the easiest walking and the best photos.
2) Understand how the boulders formed (a 60-million-year story)
About 60 million years ago, this stretch of coast was under the sea, and mud was building up on the seafloor. Around tiny starting points, usually a shell or fossil fragment, minerals in the groundwater (mostly calcite) slowly cemented the surrounding mud into a hard ball, growing outward in every direction, which is why they ended up so round.
It took millions of years for the bigger ones to reach full size, up to 2.2 metres across and 7 tonnes. They've actually been sitting there the whole time, buried in a big layer of soft mudstone. What's happened since is that the coast has eroded, and because the boulders are so much harder than the mudstone around them, the soft stuff wears away first and leaves the boulders behind on the beach.
3) Discover the Māori legend of Te Waka o Āraiteuru
Long before the geology was understood, local Māori had their own explanation. According to tradition, the boulders are remnants of eel baskets, calabashes and kūmara washed ashore when the great canoe Āraiteuru was wrecked nearby, with a nearby reef said to be the wreck of the hull itself. The Moeraki Boulders' Māori name, Kaihinaki, is tied to this story, and it's worth reading the interpretation panels at the site before you explore.
4) Choose your access point: reserve car park or cafe entrance
There are two ways onto the beach:
Moeraki Boulders Scenic Reserve car park, off Moeraki Boulders Road (signposted from State Highway 1): free parking, then a flat 300m walk down to the beach.
Moeraki Boulders Cafe entrance, via a private road: a small $2 donation applies, with parking, toilets and a café right at the site, handy if you want food or facilities either side of your visit.
Both routes put you on the same stretch of beach, so pick whichever suits what else you need from the stop.
5) Photograph the boulders at sunrise
Koekohe Beach faces the open Pacific to the east, so sunrise is the golden hour here. The boulders and wet sand catch the early light, and you might even have the beach to yourself. Overcast mornings still work well, softening the light and avoiding harsh shadows across the rounded surfaces.
Tip: A wide angle lens held low to the sand captures the scale of the boulders best and a polarising filter helps if the sand is wet and reflective.
6) Watch for wildlife on the beach
Koekohe Beach rocks. But New Zealand fur seals, and occasionally sea lions also hang out among the boulders, and yellow eyed penguins/hoiho are sometimes spotted further along the sand at Katiki point, usually early or late in the day.
Safety note (important): Keep at least 20 metres from any seal or sea lion, more if it reacts to you, and never get between an animal and the water. Keep dogs leashed at all times, and give any penguins space and quiet, no flash photography.
7) Respect the reserve: conservation and safety
The Moeraki Boulders sit within a protected scientific reserve, and it's illegal to remove or damage them (smaller boulders were taken by souvenir hunters in the past, which is part of why access is more actively managed today).
- Boulders can be wet and slippery, take care climbing on or around them, especially with kids
- Watch the tide while you're on the beach; an incoming tide can cut off sections faster than expected.
- Cliff edges nearby are subject to erosion, stay back from the edge and any fenced-off areas.
8) Plan your logistics: how long to allow
Most visitors spend 30 to 60 minutes at the boulders, longer if the tide is right and you want to walk further along the beach or take photos. The cafe side track includes some steps, so it isn't wheelchair accessible, though manageable with a pushchair. The reserve car park route is a flatter, easier walk. Stock up on supplies before you arrive. Hampden has a small store, with a fuller range of shops and fuel in Oamaru (about 30 minutes north).
9) Or make a trip out of it
Don’t treat the Moeraki Boulders as a short stop on the drive between Dunedin and Oamaru or Christchurch, snap a few photos from the car park, and get straight back on State Highway 1. There’s so much more to the area than just the boulders. Stay with us at the nearby Moeraki Boulders Holiday Park @Hampden Beach, just a 1.5km by road, or a scenic 25-minute walk along the beach when the tide allows and see the top 10 things to do in Hampden and Moeraki
It's an NZMCA-owned holiday park, you don’t have to be a NZMCA member to stay, but if you are, you’ll access great CampSaver rates. It has powered sites, non powered sites, cabins, plus a camp kitchen, ablution block, and safe swimming and kayaking right on Hampden Beach and its lagoon.
FAQ: Visiting the Moeraki Boulders
Are the Moeraki Boulders free to visit?
Yes, if you park at the Moeraki Boulders Scenic Reserve car park and walk the 300m down to the beach. Accessing the beach via the café entrance carries a small $2 donation, which also gets you closer parking, toilets and a cafe.
What is the best time of day to see the Moeraki Boulders?
Low tide is what matters most, check a tide chart for Koekohe Beach and aim to arrive within two to three hours either side of low tide. For photography, sunrise gives the best light, since the beach faces east.
How were the Moeraki Boulders formed?
They're septarian concretions, hard nodules of mud, silt and clay cemented by calcite, that formed within seafloor mudstone around 60 million years ago and grew over several million years. Erosion of the surrounding, softer mudstone has gradually exposed them on the beach.
Can you climb on the Moeraki Boulders?
Many visitors do walk on and around the lower boulders, but they can be wet and slippery, and it's illegal to remove or damage them. Take care, supervise children closely, and treat the site as the protected scientific reserve it is.
How far is Moeraki Boulders Holiday Park @Hampden Beach from the boulders?
About 1.5km by road (a couple of minutes' drive), or a 25-minute walk along the beach when the tide is out.
Do I need to book a campsite in advance?
Yes, booking ahead is recommended, especially over summer and public holiday weekends, when this stretch of coast gets busy with Moeraki Boulders day trips as well as campers.