Why you should visit Putangirua Pinnacles and Cape Palliser?

Elisa
Nov 5, 2019
3 min read

As we started to get into our daily routine by working and living in Wellington it got a little boring. So we decided to take a little one-day road trip.

It started casual, as most road trips. We packed our snacks, water and put on our hiking shoes.

Weather was nice and springy. We didn’t realize that this will become the most memorable day in New Zealand North Island. At least for us.

We already know that every visited place is a different experience for different people. Things that some will enjoy will be unbearable for others and vice versa.

This time we didn’t have any expectations and we didn’t have opinions from other people about the place we decided to visit. Turned out – a lot of travelers skip it, because it is off the main roads. The only ones that most definitely go there are fans of Lord of the Ring. Why? Because this is a locations where they shot episodes from Dimholt Road in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

But even if you are not a big fan of the trilogy, I would suggest everyone to visit this magical place!

I can’t guarantee 100% satisfaction, but it will definitely be a wonderful adventure.

We knew that Putangirua Pinnacles is a place where different type of cliff formations are made of badlands erosion. They consist of a large number of earth pillars. (You can learn about them more - HERE. )

After a short track along the river the pinnacles revealed themselves right before our eyes.

First of all, I didn’t expect them to be so high. Second of all I didn’t expect to be so amazed by the place. It just felt so out of this world.

So we stood there for quite a while and admired the interesting forms created by mother earth.

Aldis went to his own little adventure. After not finding any Hobbits, he returned. :D

We (I mean Aldis) had to have some snacks. We spent there at least 1,5 hours.

After making a ton of pictures, we continued the track to get to the viewpoint from the top. We stayed there for quite some time. I just didn’t want to leave this place. I really felt like on a different planet. Even if I have seen a lot of wonderful places in my travels, I would suggest everyone take their time and pay a visit.

That wasn’t all…

I insisted that we are going to Cape Palliser Lighthouse. I didn’t know what to expect either, but I had a feeling that we have to stop by. And I am glad we did.

The landscape was interesting. It reminded me of Iceland. High mountains, no trees, everything yellowy green and strong wind from the coast.

There was a little village there, but other than that no real civilization.

The further we went, the narrower became the road. At one point that we felt there are no real road at all. Some places the waves were crushing against the cliffs making road and a car wet (like an ancient car wash).

We saw some seals on the way. They were undisturbedly sleeping on the rocks.

When we reached the lighthouse (and also the place where the road ends completely – at least for public access) I was shocked by the long all-the-way-up stairs. But it was worth a climb. Views were stunning and we were happy that we decided to drive that far.