The Elephant Rocks near
Duntroon in
North Otago, New Zealand, are a collection of large weathered limestone rocks. They are located on a private farm south of Duntroon, in the
Maerewhenua Valley. The wider area around Duntroon is known for its interesting geology and preserved fossils.
The Elephant Rocks are the weathered remnants of the Otekaike Limestone formation which lies above the
Oligocene
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...
Kokoamu Greensand
The Kokoamu Greensand is a geological formation found in New Zealand. It is a fossil-bearing, late Oligocene, greensand rock unit of the eastern South Island, especially the Waitaki District of North Otago and the southern Canterbury region. The ...
.
The rock formations of the Elephant Rocks vary from across and are naturally scattered around a grass
paddock
A paddock is a small enclosure for horses. In the United Kingdom, this term also applies to a field for a general automobile racing competition, particularly Formula 1.
Description
In Canada and the United States of America, a paddock is a small ...
on a gentle hillside over an area of about across. The rocks themselves are rounded and pockmarked from weathering, but do not specifically resemble elephant shapes. The pasture is part of a private farm, and sheep may be present. Access is permitted via a 5-minute walk across the farmland from opposite a parking bay on the Island Cliff-Duntroon Road. The
Alps to Ocean Cycle Trail passes the site.
The Elephant Rocks area has been used as a filming location for the first ''
Chronicles of Narnia
''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been adapted for radio, telev ...
'' movie in 2005 when it was transformed into
Aslan
Aslan () is a major character in C. S. Lewis's ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' series. Unlike any other character, he appears in all seven chronicles of the series. Aslan is depicted as a talking lion, and is described as the King of Beasts, the ...
's camp.
References
{{Coord, -44.8935, 170.6562, display=title
Waitaki District
Rock formations of Otago