Wairere Boulders

The Wairere valley near Horeke in the Far North of Northland is home to the Wairere Boulders, a unique rock formation thousands of years old.

Thousands of basalt boulders stacked on top of each other look like a stream of rocks, frozen in time, flowing down towards the sea. The length of the basalt rock amassments on the valley floor is 1.5km and some singular rocks are around 30metres high.

The boulders are covered in unique markings called fluting, karst, clints, lapiez or solution pits. Often it is referred to it as pseudocarst. The fluting on the Wairere Boulders is caused by the result of chemical leaching by acids generated by the Kauri forests that used to exist in the area.

It is one of the most awesome activities and an exciting adventure to explore this unique Tourism Attraction. The valley features an easy walk and tracks and the unique walking possibilities make it an outstanding site of eco-tourism or nature tourism.

The stunning rock formations lay hidden for more than 100 years until a Swiss couple stumbled across it. After discovering their humble home was hiding a geological piece of paradise, it was always their intention to show it off to the world. But their dream was only realised in the year 2000 when the determined couple began building pathways by hand through their jungle oasis.

The Wairere Boulders are open every day during daylight hours.