Three Sisters and the Elephant: Tongaporutu’s Disappearing Coastline
I wrote this in 2016 or 2017 during the two years I lived in New Zealand. Some details — prices, hours, what’s open — may have changed, but the experience and my love for this place haven’t.
Update: Since I wrote this post, the coastline has continued to change. When I visited there were three sisters — now only two remain. Elephant Rock lost its trunk to erosion in 2016, the same year I was there, leaving just a single natural arch. My closing line about the ocean taking back the sisters turned out to be more prophetic than I realized. The site is still absolutely worth visiting — just know that what you see will be different from what I saw, and different again from what the next visitor sees. That’s part of what makes it so remarkable.
We were driving through Taranaki and looking for a place to stop and stretch our legs — my partner suggested a place called the Three Sisters. He had been there before but it was many years ago so we decided to check it out.
The Three Sisters is a rock formation on the beach on State Highway 3 near Tongaporutu. You can get a nice view from Pilot Road without leaving your car, but if you have time and the tide is right then you can walk alongside the river and explore the formations up close. Low tide only — plan accordingly.
There are signs posted to show you the way. We pulled into the parking lot and were surprised to find 15-20 cars already there — Highway 3 is pretty quiet most of the time but it was the Christmas break so most people were out exploring. They have a single toilet with running water and two changing rooms, which was also a surprise. After a quick stop we followed the small trail of people walking down to the beach.
You walk along the sandy shore and then across some rather slippery rocks — someone has carved rudimentary stairs into the rocks in parts but it is still slippery. I was wearing jandals and took them off for some sections. Water shoes would have been smarter as they handle both the rocks and the sand.
The Elephant formation is on the far side of the first rock you come to — a huge rock that is more of an island really, with grass growing on top. There’s a bit of a cave on one side and we poked our heads in to discover you can see straight out the other side. When the tide is in the rock is surrounded by water. I read afterward that there are Māori carvings inside the cave that are still visible but wearing away over time. The Elephant didn’t exactly look like an elephant to me — I know now that’s because the trunk had already fallen into the sea by the time we got there.
Past that rock you’ll see an archway and then the rock towers that make up the sisters. There was a fourth sister at one point but the ocean reclaimed her before we arrived. The ocean has since taken a third. There are birds nesting on the grass on top of the remaining formations and you can walk through the archway and along the beach. There are also wonderful little hidden caves along the land side to explore.
I really love the patterns in the rocks and the way you can see millions of years of history in the different layers. The ocean is patient and relentless and it is slowly taking all of this back. Until it does, it is a great place to visit.
Tips:
- For tide information I use an app called AyeTides for NZ — basic but easy to use for just tide tracking and you can store your favourite stations.
- Low tide only — two hours either side is the safe window. Check tide tables before you go.
- Walking over the rocks involves some slippery sections with oyster and mussel shells — sturdy footwear is better than jandals. I learned this the hard way.
- Skip this in rainy conditions — the approach gets muddy.
- The Kaipara Coast Highway access is closed 1 August to 30 September for lambing.
