Stormy Point
State Highway 54, which joins Palmerston North & Fielding up with State Highway 1 just north of Hunterville near Vinegar Hill, is a scenic route and a quick shortcut for those in Palmy that want to head northbound out of the city. A few kilometres south of the SH1-SH54 junction lies Stormy Point – an observation lookout with an elevation of over 400 metres AMSL. Here, looking west, one can view one of the best preserved sequence of river terraces in the world.
The topography of the Rangitikei area has been shaped by water erosion of uplifted marine sedimentary rocks (which are being tilted south), such as mudstones, sandstones, limestones and clay – all of which are poor in structural integrity. Through the region flows the Rangitikei River, one of New Zealand’s longest rivers, 185 kilometres in length, which flows in a southwest direction from its headwaters southeast of Lake Taupo in the Kaimanawa Ranges to the South Taranaki Bight near Tangimoana. It has a catchment area of nearly 3,200 square kilometres, which varies in 29 kilometres to 43.5 kilometres in width, and although half of this catchment lies in an area of rain shadow, floods are usually small and infrequent – however in 1897 the river violently flooded and all six bridges crossing it at the time were either damaged or destroyed.
An increase of erosion in the Rangitikei River headwaters filled the valley with greywacke gravels. Each intervening period of warmer climate allowed the river to cut into these deposits, forming a deep gorge as seen today. The continued uplift of the land raised the older terraces above a level where they could no longer be buried by each successive terrace forming episode. In addition to this, fine silt particles were blown off each gravel terrace, deposited downwind across the landscape.
From Stormy Point, all five terraces can be seen. From the most recent to the oldest, they are named:
| Ohakean |
12,000 to 25,000 years ago. |
| Ratan |
30,000 to 50,000 years ago. |
| Martonan |
130,000 to 140,000 years ago. |
| Burnandian |
170,000 to 180,000 years ago. |
| Aldworthian |
350,000 to 400,000 years ago. |
Today, these terraces can be seen at a number of locations, with the Ohakean terraces as the most prominent and striking – as they are the most recent and least eroded. The numerous roads throughout the area cut through these terraces and some have spectacular descents where the road is forced to drop from a higher terrace to a lower terrace. One example in near Mangaweka, and another near Otara Road Bridge, where one descends from a higher river terrace on both sides to meet the river and the bridge below.
The lookout also offers, on a clear day, distant views of Mounts Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe in the Central Plateau, and Mount Egmont, Taranaki.
Cache Details & Access Information
Please be stealthy when retrieving and replacing the cache as you are visible from the road and parking area. Please rehide the cache well, as a previous cache here went missing twice and its replacement has now been replaced for a second time. The cache is now a 100ml plastic pill bottle containing only a waterproof log sheet so you'll need to bring your own pen.
It’s not a difficult place to stop, and you are given plenty of forewarning as there are road signs indicating the lookout is 400 metres away in both directions. Travelling north it is easy to pull over into the parking area. More care is needed when heading south as you must cross on-coming traffic - there is nowhere to pull off to the left nearby.
For the best views and photos, a morning stop is optimal.