![]() Maori legend attributes their origin to the arrival of the first ancestors / giants who came in the great Araiteuru canoe which was sunk by three great waves at nearby Matakaea. Some of the larger boulders weigh several tonnes and can be up to three metres wide. The erosion of the cliffs often reveals these boulders from the surrounding mudstone allowing them to join those already on the beach. Known as “Moeraki Boulders” they were originally formed on the sea floor from sedimentary deposits that accreted around a core in the same way that a pearl will form around a particle of sand. These large, spherical, alien and strangely beautiful boulders are mainly located on Koekohe Beach, part of the Otago coast of New Zealand’s South Island. The Moeraki boulders are said to be the pots and chattels from the canoe. It is said by the Maoris that some of the surviving crew of the Araiteuru canoe were turned into stone and became mountains. They too recognised it as a rare and important place attributing healing powers to the milky-white waters. Apparently Pammakale means Castle of Cotton but the Greco-Romans built a town above it called Heirapolis – meaning “Holy City” or “Sacred City”. As the water evaporated the chalky material condensed and formed layer-upon-layer of Travertine and thus slowly built up the walls over time in the same way that a stalactite forms in a cave. Thousands of years ago earthquakes, which are common in Turkey, created fractures that allowed powerful hot springs to bring water rich in calcium carbonate to the surface. ![]() The strange and weirdly beautiful terraced pools of Pamukkale have been appreciated for over two millennia and yet still remain a little known wonder of the world. Pamukkale is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the pools have been closed to the tourists that once bathed in their waters to save them from further damage. They remind us that even in this age of technical and technological marvels there are still amazing places to be discovered. ![]() Our planet Earth has many strange and often beautiful places that retain the power to inspire and mystify.
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