Clay Cliffs Omarama

The Clay Cliffs are a set of steep pinnacles and narrow ravines cut into a thick bed of silt and gravel laid down by ancient rivers around two million years ago and then lifted along the Ostler Fault, which runs right through the site. Rain has since cut down into the soft material, leaving fins and columns with a raw, dry, almost desert look that is unlike anything else in the Mackenzie. They sit on a working sheep station, so access is private: you drive an unsealed road, pay a small fee into an honesty box at the gate, and drive the last stretch to a small parking area. From there you can walk into the ravines themselves, which is the point - the scale only reads from inside. The material is loose and actively eroding, so the formations shed material and climbing on them is both damaging and unsafe. Late afternoon light is when the colour comes up.

What you actually see

• The pinnacles and fins - eroded from two-million-year-old gravel.
• The ravines - walked into, which is where the scale registers.
• The Ostler Fault - the line that lifted the whole bed.
• The honesty box - the private-land access arrangement.

When to go

October to April, late afternoon for the light. Avoid after heavy rain - the road turns to mud and the formations shed material.

Honest expectations

Private land with a fee at the gate; take cash. The access road is unsealed and rough. The material is loose and unstable - do not climb the pinnacles. No facilities of any kind.

Nearby

Omarama and its hot tubs are east; Lake Ohau and the Lindis Pass are close.