Putangirua Pinnacles Camping

The Putangirua Pinnacles are one of New Zealand's best examples of "badlands erosion" and consist of a large number of earth pillars located at the head of a valley in the Aorangi Ranges. It is not known exactly how long the pinnacles have been forming but they are thought to be less than 125,000 years old with major erosion probably beginning 7000 years ago and accelerating in the last 1000 years with the deforestation of the area.
Part of the Paths of the Dead sequence in the film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was filmed on location here.