The Clay Cliffs, Waitaki Valley

by

Last Updated on April 14, 2020 by Jon Algie

A long detour down a gravel road leads to the Clay Cliffs, a surreal slice of nature which features in the upcoming Mulan movie. It doesn’t take long to explore and makes for a good side trip when driving through the Waitaki Valley or the road from Queenstown to Mount Cook.

The Clay Cliffs

The Clay Cliffs are a group of clay pinnacles jutting out of the barren earth. They make an impressive first impression, and once at the car park you’ll want to walk the short tracks which take you to the centre of the action.

The tracks are pretty short and a visit to the Clay Cliffs won’t take long, but it’s definitely worth the detour. It gets a bit slippery, so make sure to wear decent shoes.

When we visited the Clay Cliffs it was almost deserted. That’s one of my favourite things about New Zealand — there are so many cool things to see and do on the way to the major sights. There are always short detours to interesting places you’d probably never heard of, and they are usually devoid of the tourist masses.

Getting There

The Clay Cliffs are close to Omarama, one of the major towns in the Waitaki Valley. You’ll pass through the town, and the turnoff to the cliffs, when driving between Queenstown / Wanaka / Central Otago and Mount Cook / Lake Tekapo. You can actually see the Clay Cliffs towards the end of Lindis Pass, although you have to go right around to drive there.

 You’ll also pass through the Waitaki Valley if heading from that area to Oamaru and Dunedin – it’s a pretty underrated drive. In my opinion, Oamaru is the nicest small town in New Zealand and Dunedin is the nicest city, so shove them into your itinerary if you can!

Other Places to See in the Waitaki Valley

There is heaps to see in the Waitaki Valley, including the awesome Benmore Peninsula Walkway, the Elephant Rocks, Maori rock paintings, dams and historic towns.

Benmore Peninsula Walkway

Are you planning a trip to New Zealand? Check out our South Island travel guide!

The following two tabs change content below.
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Instagram profile

Jon Algie

I'm a South Island local -- born in Timaru and raised in Dunedin. I left the island in 2006 and returned 10 years later. Having seen a good chunk of the world I realised how special this place is -- the most beautiful island in the world! Seven years (and almost 400 posts) later I'm still helping locals and tourists alike plan their trips around the South Island.