Image: Thomas Becker | Creative Commons
Putangirua pinnacles
Putangirua Pinnacles Scenic Reserve

Located in the Wairarapa region

Pūtangirua Pinnacles are some of the best earth pillar formations in New Zealand. Camp nearby and explore the surrounding coastal area.

It is around 40 mins from Martinborough to Pūtangirua Pinnacles Scenic Reserve.

Drive from Martinborough to Whāngaimoana, then follow Cape Palliser Road around the coast. The turn-off to Pūtangirua Pinnacles Scenic Reserve and Pūtangirua Pinnacles Campsite is 500 m past DOC's bookable Te Kopi Lodges.

Location: GPS coordinates -41.449483, 175.221505

There is parking, a toilet, a shelter and a campsite near the reserve entrance.

This is a naturally unstable landscape, stay on the tracks

There is a high risk of rockfalls and landslides in this area, including in the stream bed, along Pinnacles Ridge Track and around the pinnacles themselves.

The best way to view the pinnacles is from the lookout on Pinnacles Ridge Track. We recommend that you do not explore the reserve off the tracks or approach the base of the pinnacles.

Do not walk close to the cliffs due to the risk of falling rocks.

Pūtangirua Stream can flood

Pūtangirua Stream can rise quickly after heavy rain and there can be flash floods.

Check the weather forecast before visiting, pick a dry day, and be prepared to change your plans if the weather changes.

Do not cross Pūtangirua Stream during or after heavy rain, or when the stream is flooded.

No vehicles beyond the car park

No vehicles, including motor bikes, are allowed in Pūtangirua streambed or on the track. This is to protect this special environment and stop the spread of invasive weeds.

Information for hunters

Rifles must not be carried loaded, nor discharged in the reserve.

The 'badlands erosion' of Pūtangirua Pinnacles is a spectacular landscape feature attracting many visitors to the southern Wairarapa.

When the Aorangi Range was an island, screes poured gravels onto the coast, much as they do today around Cape Palliser.

Pūtangirua Stream has exposed this ancient layer of gravels to the erosive forces of rain and floods. Where cemented silts or rocks within the gravel beds prove more resistant than the underlying sediments, spectacular individual pinnacles or “hoodoos” are formed.

Lord of the Rings filming location

The eerie scenes in The Return of the King as Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli ride along the Dimholt Road to meet the Army of the Dead were filmed against the surreal backdrop of the Pinnacles.

Protecting the area during filming

Weed-free fodder was fed to horses used in the Lord of the Rings before they were filmed at the Pūtangirua Pinnacles. The risk of introducing weeds was addressed through a condition in filming consents that required horses to be fed products that could not regrow and were free of seed. The production company also ensured the horses came from gorse and broom-free stables. After the horses had been walked through the reserve to be filmed from a helicopter, their hoof prints were raked over to avoid any impact on the ground.