Elephant Rocks is probably one of the most popular attractions at or near Oamaru that you might not know about. If you watched the first Chronicles of Narnia movie then you’d instantly recognize these rock formations. They’re relatively easy to get to if you’re already in Oamaru and are definitely worth checking out.
Elephant Rocks: Karst Landscape in Duntroon
Now I say the Elephant Rocks are in Oamaru but really, they’re much closer to the town of Duntroon. The thing is though, Oamaru is arguably the much more popular destination so you’re likely going to come from there when you do end up visiting. Still, regardless of where you’re coming from, you’re going to need access to a private car.
The thing with Elephant Rocks is that it’s not part of a national park or managed by the Department of Conservation. Yes, the track going to the location is but the site itself is actually a different thing altogether. If you look closely at the image above, the site is actually closed off as it’s within private farmland.
Before we’ll get inside, let’s take a look at this map showing the roads as well as the notable towns and attractions in the area. As you can probably see, Oamaru is a long ways off from Duntroon where the Elephant Rocks are located. So if you do plan to visit here, you’re really going to have to make time on your itinerary.
Here’s another infographic talking about Elephant Rocks. Specifically, it talks about how the rocks were formed from eroded limestone and that the whole area was actually part of a prehistoric seafloor. You’ll also note that the infographic shows that the site is part of the Waitaki Whitestone Geopark though again, it’s still within private property.
Now if you’re considering other notable locations to visit, the infographic talks of an Anatini fossil site, Maori rock art found at Takiroa and Maerewhenoa, as well as the town of Duntroon itself. The Anatini fossil site is actually just down south and you can access it on the same road as Elephant Rocks. As for Duntroon and Takiroa, both are up north and are a bit further than the fossil site is.
So I’ve been talking a lot about Elephant Rocks being part of private farmland but what exactly does that mean for you as a visitor to this place? You can actually still freely access Elephant Rocks but you will be subject to any rules imposed by the land owner. Now while it is free to access, donating is also encouraged to help with the maintenance of the place.
Donations really aren’t compulsory but the people I’ve seen visit here still donate nonetheless. The donation isn’t just for the landowners but really for the whole community as well. Since it’s not directly managed by the Department of Conservation, I would guess funding for Elephant Rocks’ maintenance lands squarely on the landowner’s shoulders.
So essentially, Elephant Rocks operates on an honor system where visitors donate for access and the landowners use the proceeds from the donations for maintaining the area. Anyway, once you’ve donated, make sure to take note of this sign prior to entering. Much like with most of the geological sites I’ve visited here in New Zealand, you’re not allowed to bring pets as well as bikes/motorbikes here.
After donating, there’s a small door that you can go past to then enter the property. From there, you can actually already catch a glimpse of the Elephant Rocks. Now I initially thought the whole area was small thanks to the distance but up close it looks quite different.
So from the entrance, you can head due west and you’ll immediately see the area enclosed by the Elephant Rocks. If you head towards the North-West direction, you can move through the rock formations. I personally think the direction doesn’t matter as you can still expect some really nice views regardless of where you start.
This is the view of the enclosed area I talked about earlier. From here you can sort of see why the rocks are called the way they’re called. They really look like a herd of elephants grazing on the grassy land here.
Of course, these aren’t really elephants but rather the remains of an ancient limestone seabed. What made these look the way they look right now involved erosion spanning millions of years. Aside from wind, the melting ice as well as rains eventually shaped (and even now, are still shaping) these rock formations.
If you’ve been following me for the last couple of months or so, you might remember me talking about karst landscapes when I was in China (as well as when I was in Castle Hill). Well, Elephant Rocks is also considered a karst landscape and it’s probably one of the most accessible that I’ve been to. It’s obviously not as impressive as Wulong’s Three Natural Bridges but the same process that shaped those geological formations also happened here.
Here you’ll notice just how elephant-like the rock formations are. I guess a lot of what makes the formations look like elephants is the curvature of their humps. You could probably drape some cloth on them and their silhouettes will still make your mind think that they still look like elephants.
So another thing that I noticed here is how smooth the rock formations looked. I’ve seen rock formations in Castle Hill with really rough/jagged texture that made them really great for bouldering. In contrast, the rock formations here looked extra smooth which I guess makes them more of a challenge for bouldering enthusiasts.
This is a close up of one of the rock formations. I will say that when I saw this I kind of got why there was a need for donations. Maintaining the rocks here can be straight up near impossible especially with the occasional (I hope) visitors that feel the need to leave their “tracks”.
Thankfully, the vandalism wasn’t really that prominent and a majority of the rocks here still looked like they were in pristine condition. Really the only other sign that people have been (and will continue to be) here were the chalk marks that were left by bouldering enthusiasts. If you look closely at the rock on the left, it’s those white marks towards its center/middle.
Here’s another set of rock formations that have white chalk marks on them. Now I said earlier that this was considered challenging for bouldering enthusiasts but I think there are also problems here for beginners and intermediate climbers. In fact, I think the majority of the problems here are at the V3 grade.
Now you need not worry if you’re not into climbing or bouldering. I’m not into these activities and I still enjoyed my time here. There’s really just plenty of views here that you sort of find yourself just passing the time taking pictures of rock formations like the one above.
Now not all rock formations here admittedly look like elephants. The ones pictured above are great examples of the variety of the formations that you’ll find here. Rather than an elephant, the rock formation at the back actually reminded me of a Spongebob Squarepants villain named Plankton.
Really, you can just let your imagination run wild when you’re here. Initially, I thought the rock formation in the image looked like another elephant but at some angles it also seemed like a mushroom with a cap. And you know what’s great? It’s that there are no right or wrong guesses as to what these look like!
I personally think that teen-aged me would love being here. As someone who constantly got lost in a myriad of thoughts at that age, my mind would have been working overtime trying to decipher what rock formations like these were supposed to be. My mind would’ve probably gone “did these truly look like elephants or were they more like sleeping dragons?”
This particular area reminded me a lot of Castle Hill for some reason. The way the rocks formed here made it feel like I was in a castle or a fort. Also, you’ve probably noticed it earlier but the grass here was also very smooth. In fact, I think this would have made for a great picnic spot.
Well, at least the areas that were touched by the rocks’ shades did seem like perfect spots for picnics. The open areas were too exposed to the elements for me to have felt comfortable. Now you’re probably asking, is it actually possible to set up a picnic spot here?
Regardless if it’s in the shade or out in the open, you can’t just set up a picnic spot here. Well at least that’s how it seemed to me during my visit. Remember there are farm animals in the area and any food that you bring here has a high chance of attracting them.
Yes, while there’s a wild vibe to the Elephant Rocks, the reality is that these are still part of someone’s private farmland. As a result, there are going to be times when you’ll find yourself meeting the farm’s animals. Now, I’m not entirely sure what these animals are but I do know that bringing in food could be dangerous for you and for them.
So while it is tempting to start a picnic here, do yourself a favor and probably save it for when you’ve hit Duntroon proper. I know for a fact that there are cafes and bars in the town where you can relax and eat to your heart’s content. One of the signs earlier said it best: “take nothing but photos and leave nothing but footprints.”
Now you probably noticed earlier how a lot of the rocks are curved at the top. There are some rocks here though that look much more unique like the one shown in this image. These rocks are situated much higher and so their top-most parts probably weren’t subject to the same erosion as their other parts. Kind of like how the submerged part of an ice cube has much less volume than the parts that are above the waterline.
This is the area that I said looked like a castle or a fort. You can see how it’s actually quite comfy here. If there’s actually one place in New Zealand that I feel would be great for stealth camping then this would be that.
The area here isn’t as exposed to the elements though admittedly, the views are also limited. That said, if you come here around noon time then this would be a great place to hide from the sun. Perhaps the only real issue you might have is that you’re kind of surrounded by these rocks and there aren’t that many notable views from here.
At some point though, you are going to want to shield yourself from the sun so you might as well take advantage of the shade here. Awesome views are a dime a dozen here at Elephant Rocks but shade is at a premium. On that note, if you do plan to come here then I would highly recommend scheduling your visit in the afternoon.
So not only is an afternoon visit going to be a lot less sunny, the views as the sun is setting is also much more dramatic. An early morning visit can also work but you really have a lot less to worry about when you come here in the afternoon. Moreover, the whole visit typically just takes around 30 minutes so it’s perfect for when you’re winding down for the day.
Here are some other rock formations that look more like fat lizards than elephants. You’ll also notice that the weathering on these looks relatively new and I’m not entirely sure why this might be the case. These do seem like they’re one of the rocks that are used for bouldering so that might explain the wear.
Now I was trying to remember what scene the Elephant Rocks were featured in the first Chronicles of Narnia movie and I really couldn’t seem to remember. My guess would be during the battle scenes but the setting there seemed like it was more valley-like. Anyway, here’s another look at one of the fat lizards (the left most rock formation) that I was talking about in the previous image.
These rock formations really reminded me of elephants crossing a body of water. Typically elephants huddle together when swimming across a river or in the sea and these rock formations look exactly like them.
Here is the rock that showed relatively newer signs of wear from earlier. Just behind it to the right is the rock formation that I said looked like a fat lizard (or maybe a sleeping dragon?). At this point, my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to look up what parts of the Narnia film used this location.
So apparently, the Elephant Rocks were actually featured prominently in the film especially during the parts where Peter Pevensie (one of the children) was talking to Aslan. This blew my mind because the film was one of my favorites growing up (much like the Lord of the Rings). Not knowing the exact parts where this place was featured did hurt my ego a bit as I do pride myself in remembering the minute details of the films I like.
While I was trying to remember other parts of the movie where the Elephant Rocks were featured, I caught sight of this peculiar looking formation. From this angle, it actually looked like a gorilla sitting and deep in thought. This made me chuckle a bit and I realized that I was probably just being too hard on myself for not remembering scenes from a movie that was released nearly a decade and a half ago.
I was nearing the end of my visit and I couldn’t help but marvel at just how nice the whole experience had been. It wasn’t as action-packed as most of the tracks that I’d been to but it was still pretty eventful. The views also were just as good.
Speaking of views, here’s a rock formation that looked like a gorilla staring down at me. Take note that this isn’t the same as the other rock formation earlier that looked like a gorilla sitting. You’ll also notice that this one seems like it’s one that’s used for bouldering thanks to what looks like chalk on and at the side of the gorilla’s “face”.
So going back to my experience, if there’s one thing I think that would really elevate this place as a great destination, it’s probably the presence of better facilities. Not only that, the place would definitely benefit from having public transport passing by. That said, I also think the place is great as it is now.
Far too often, the presence of more people can become a detriment more than a boon. This is especially true for Elephant Rocks as it doesn’t really have a dedicated budget and facilities to deal with an influx of visitors. There’s actually a public outhouse here but it’s really small and I just don’t think it could handle foot traffic similar to the Hooker Valley Track.
Another possible issue I see with more visitors has to do with vandalism and security. You saw in one of the earlier images how one rock was vandalized. With more people coming here, that’s going to be something that will need to be watched and monitored.
With so little (to no) funding though, it’s going to be hard to even just monitor a hundred visitors. It’s why I decided to donate earlier because I really think places like this need to continue operating. They provide value not just for movie nerds like me but more importantly, they can help foster an appreciation of nature.
At this point, I’d already circled around the area and was ready to head back. I did end up staying a little more though because I thought that the way the sun’s light struck these rocks was really nice. And really, it’s the simple instances like this that in my opinion, elevate this place.
Earlier I said this looked like a mushroom with its cap on. But now, with a different angle and with different lighting, it looks much more like a slug. And I guess this is also what makes the place great. Every view here feels like you’re looking at a Rorschach test due to how open they are for any interpretation.
I didn’t come across some during my stay but there is something that you might want to consider when you do come here. Remember how I said that animals typically find their way here as well? So it’s not just people who leave stuff behind here.
Yes, animals can also leave their droppings so you really want to be mindful of where you’re walking. Again, I was lucky enough to not have stepped on the proverbial landmine during my time here. That said, this shouldn’t mean that you should be dropping your guard (see what I did there?).
Kidding aside, the presence of farm animals is probably the only few drawbacks I could think of when visiting Elephant Rock. And even with this, you can always just decide to avoid them and their droppings. There are other issues with this place but none that I think are too serious to not recommend it (more on this in a while).
I will say, areas like Castle Hill, Hooker Valley Track, Lake Tekapo, and others are probably better than Elephant Rock. That said, save for a few, a lot of those places require long walks and/or a little effort if you really wanted to make the most of them. Here it’s all so convenient.
With Elephant Rocks, everything’s a short walk. In fact, I think I would have been able to cover the whole area in less than 30 minutes were it not for my propensity to take lots of pictures. It’s really the ideal stop-over but I wouldn’t say it’s a must-visit especially if it’s out of the way of your itinerary. That said, if you do find yourself in the Otago-Duntroon-Oamaru area then I’d definitely recommend a visit here.
How about you? Ever been to Elephant Rocks in Duntroon? If yes, then we’re definitely interested in hearing about your experiences here down in the comments!
