Three Sisters and The Elephant Rock, New Zealand
When did I visit: End of January, around 10am. Make sure you go there at a low tide (check tides here).
Track distance & time to complete: Some 10-15 min from the carpark.
Temperature: Should be warm and nice, but it was a foggy 14-15 degrees Celsius for me.
Parking: Free parking at the start of the walk.
Exact location: Three Sisters and the Elephant Rock on Google Maps.
In the beginning, there was an elephant alongside three sisters, stranded on a beach.
Then the ocean claimed one of the sisters.
Years later, erosion claimed one more, along with the elephant’s trunk.
So we decided to hurry up and visit this ethereal place before nature takes those few remaining rock formations away from us. Our journey began on a cloudy day, about an hour’s drive from this place.
When we got there, the place was… Eerily empty. Despite the fact that there were several cars in the carpark, we couldn’t see any human faces around.
For a while we wondered which is the right direction. The fog was now starting to thicken and we couldn’t find any signage as to where we should walk to see the famous rock formations.
So our best bet was to just start walking along the coast in one direction and hope to get some glimpses here and there. Luckily, we got there at a fairly low tide, so we had a bit of time to wander around before high tide kicked back in.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if it was because of the mist, but the mood was so unreal and calm at the same time. Huge boulders just lying on the beach as if teleported from another planet. Visions of rock formations in the distance. A poor little penguin stranded on top of a cliff.
Were we still on Planet Earth?
And wait a second, what’s that right ahead of us? Caves? Definitely checking them out.
With so many footprints in the wet sand, we eventually started getting more confident that we were walking towards the Sisters and Elephant. I mean, it must be a good sign, right?
And it was.
Kia ora fellow explorer, I hope you are enjoying this story so far!
If you’d like to support my work, you can buy me a cup of coffee 🖤
On our way out of the caves, we were treated with some out-of-this-world views.
Lo and behold, the trunkless elephant.
For most of us, these views are not something you get to experience very often.
This meant grabbing our cameras and splitting up so we can capture the scenery from different angles.
I don’t know how long these stunning rock formations will keep standing there. No one does.
Nature has a strange way of giving us pieces of beauty that we take for granted, but then she takes it all away. The best we can do is go out there and explore, but be mindful of how we can preserve it for our future generations.
We’re very lucky to have such a beautiful planet.
Thanks for reading, I hope you’ve enjoyed the story and images of my journey.
See more of my travels – follow me on Instagram: @journeywithgoran
