On 27 March 2016, we left Dunedin and drove towards our next destination - Lake Tekapo. Approx. 30Km before reaching an intermediate coastal town, Oamaru, we noticed a road sign "Moeraki Bounders". We had no prior knowledge of it and had no idea what they were. Since we were on a trip of exploration, we believed it must be some interesting boulders that deserved to be looked at. We immediately made a decision and turned into the road junction that would lead us to Moeraki Bounders Beach.
From a distance, these boulders that litter the beach looked like coconuts with the husks removed. But, they were huge, ranging from diameters of 2ft to 5ft.
With the limited knowledge on geology that I gained in the university, I discovered that these circular boulders in fact were originally buried in the hill just beside the sea. Over million of years, as the sea eroded the hill, these boulders were exposed and strewed over the beach front. Some were very huge when first exposed but gradually reduced in size as the softer outer layers weathered off leaving the hard inner core. Weathering process has not stopped and is on-going. If someone is to come back in 50 years later, he will find the place significantly different from what I saw!
Until today, no one has been able to provide a conclusive answer to explain this unique phenomenon in nature. One can only behold in awe over such wonderful work of nature or an act of God!
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