McCrackens Rest

BY NICK MORTIMER (GNS)
Accessibility: WHEELCHAIR ACCESS
A winter cold front drops snow on Pahia Hill (Nick Mortimer/GNS Science)
Sweeping panoramas to the southeast, southwest and northwest are on offer here, but visibility is highely weather dependent.
Telephoto image of Solander Island taken on a clear day from McCrackens Rest (Nick Mortimer/GNS)
The geology is very varied. Pahia Hill, Rakiura/Stewart Island and Fiordland are mainly composed if granites and related plutonic rocks of the Median Batholith. Solander Island/Hautere is the extinct and eroded stump of a formerly much larger Quaternary volcano. Chemical studies of the lavas show that they were caused by subduction, like Mt Ruapehu and rocks in the Taupo Volcanic Zone. Subduction between the Pacific and Australian plates south of New Zealand is very slow and oblique compared to that in the North Island, which explains why there are not more volcanoes here.
Rakiura/Stewart Island behind Pahia Hill (Nick Mortimer/GNS Science)
McCrackens Rest is on a Quaternary gravel terrace. It is not possible to gain access to the beach.
Directions/Advisory

McCrackens Rest is located along State Highway 99, about 11 km from Tuatapere and 8 km from Orepuki. It is prominently signposted.

None

Google Directions

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Accessibility: WHEELCHAIR

The observation platform is right next to the car park.

Features
Landform
Geological Age
Quaternary
Zealandia Evolution Sequence
Pākihi Supergoup: 5 million years ago – present