Moeraki

Moeraki was quite simply the most inexplicable natural phenomenon that Victor and I have ever seen.

The literature claims that these spherical boulders arose in the same way that pearls do; by accretion around a solid object, such as a piece of wood, beginning 60 million years ago. The depositor of material, instead of an oyster, is the sea.

Thing is, why only here, on a little strip of beach in New Zealand? We don't know of such objects being on record ANYwhere else. They look positively alien, the eggs of who-knows-what. The 'birth story' does not hold water for us. Not that we have another idea.

Victor believes there are many more boulders in the cliff (we are standing next to one that's still attached to the cliff, below). On the beach, there were 45 or 50 of them. It is possible that such objects reside below the surface all over the place. Possible, but not realistic.

Happily, Victor found a first piece of sea glass on the beach at Moeraki. In addition, we started a shell collection. The West Coast had only occasional, well-worn pieces of clam shell to offer. It looks like the East Coast will feature beach lucre.