Murder is Everywhere: Giant Gobstoppers

Sunday, June 7, 2026

Giant Gobstoppers

by Sara Johnson, 1^st Sunday

Unusual rock formations dot the globe, often in hard to reach places, and showcase nature’s wonders. Be it volcanic eruptions, creeping glaciers, tectonic plates on the move, the slow, steady handiwork of water or wind, or even quarreling gods – pillars, spires, buttes, arches, hoodoos, and spheres have perplexed and inspired those of us who stop and stare.

Our American west has amazing rock formations. Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, the balancing Mexican Hat, and the otherworldly hoodoos in Bryce Canyon – all in Utah – come to mind as does Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. You probably have your favorite.

In New Zealand, four favorite formations pop into my head. The first is Split Apple Rock in Abel Tasman National Park on the South Island. My husband and I kayaked to it. The tide was just right so that the ‘apple’ was surrounded by water. (You can reach Split Apple by tramping through native bush to a beach or by boat.) Geologists believe the cleaving-in-two of the granite sphere is a result of ‘ice-wedging’ 120 million years ago.

The Māori name is Tokangawha, which translates to ‘burst open rock.’ According to Māori legend, two gods fought over the round boulder. Since they could not settle their conflict, they split the boulder, ala King Solomon, so that each of them could have half.

The next of the Fab Four was an hour’s drive from Christchurch, also on the South Island. Reminiscent of medieval castle ruins, Castle Hill cast its spell on us. In the midst of grazing land, braided rivers, and the Southern Alps in the distance, a jumble of limestone tors (boulders) appears dreamlike. We went each time we had visitors from the States, like my daughter and niece below.

We loved winding our way up to and through the maze-like monoliths, like my sister is doing below. Can you find her?

The boulders and towers, as much as 164 feet in height, attract climbers who were fun to watch from my nest below.

The Māori name for Castle Hill is Kura Tawhiti, which means “the treasure from a distant land.” The Māori used the area for hunting, gathering, and spiritual practices. The Dali Lama himself, during his “A Celebration of Kindness” visit in 2002 to New Zealand, declared Kura Tawhiti ‘the spiritual center of the universe.’ Now that’s an endorsement!

Head south from Christchurch to visit my next fave: the Nuggets. As a bonus – there’s a lighthouse, perched 76 meters above the sea. To reach the lighthouse and view the Nuggets, we walked along the spine of the headland, the wild Pacific Ocean clamoring below. In Kiwi-speak the trek is ‘easy as.’ (Ha!) It certainly was ‘gorgeous as.’

Explorer Captain James Cook named the clump of rocks sticking their heads out of the water beyond the lighthouse ‘nuggets’ because they looked like pieces of gold. What do you think? (If you are interested in the New Zealand gold rush, read my fifth book, The Hungry Bones!)

The area is considered taonga (treasured possession) by the Māori, who have names for each nugget.

Between the lighthouse and the Nuggets are rocks basins full of fur seals and sea lions, and if you’re very lucky – yellow-eyed penguins and elephant seals.

Drum roll please, for the fourth geological marvel located up the coast from the Nuggets: the Moeraki Boulders. Looks at these odd balls!

Scattered along the remote Koekohe Beach, the fifty-or-so Moeraki Boulders popped out from the surrounding mudstone 60 million years ago.

Weird fact: the boulders, which are made of calcite concretions, occur in two sizes. Thirty percent are between 1.6-3.3 feet and the rest are in the 4.9-7.2 feet range. Isn’t geology wondrous? My husband and I had fun climbing on them!

Māori legends explained that the giant bowling balls are the remains of eel baskets, calabashes (gourd containers like those below), and kūmara (sweet potato) washed ashore from the wreck of a large sailing waka (canoe.)