Photographing Three Sisters and Elephant Rock

Three Sisters and Elephant Rock is an amazing location to visit in New Zealand. To get there, you travel through an idyllic pastoral setting in the Taranaki region, passing by green fields with grazing cattle. The road ends, and you find a place where the Tasman Sea meets a black sand beach at the mouth of the Tongaporutu River. The rock formations here are eroding fast and ever changing, leading to opportunities for fresh compositions of this fascinating place.

Location

Three Sisters and Elephant Rock are on the north island of New Zealand. It's a great stop to make if you are travelling from Auckland to Taranaki National Park, as it is right on the way.

There used to be three sisters, but one was lost to the sea, then a new third sister emerged from the eroding cliffside.

Elephant Rock lost its head/trunk in the 2016 earthquake, and now the arch you see is what remains. There is a great view here of what they used to look like.

There is a lookout from a cliffside located here. It's a great view to see all the formations at once.

Get a more closeup perspective by parking here and walking out to the beach. However, timing is critical for getting this view. You will want to watch the tides and plan accordingly. Keep reading!

Timing

To walk the beach to Three Sisters and Elephant rock, you will want to go +/- 2 hours around low tide. Even then, there is some wading through water that will be required. Check out Tongaporutu tide times here. Be careful if you search for Three Sisters tide times; you might end up with a different location, the Three Sisters Islands, a completely different place to the east of Auckland.

You may also want to plan going on a clear day. Mount Taranki is visible from the cliffside and beach if it isn't covered in clouds.

Gear

You will get wet on this ride! I would recommend wearing shorts or pants you can roll up to keep yourself dry. Sturdy waterproof shoes or sandals with good tread is a must. Don't wear your nice, bright white tennis shoes for this one. It's very slippery, so use your own best judgement on traversing this area.

For camera gear, I brought my 70-200 mm and 16-35 mm lenses for a combination of telephoto and wide angle compositions. I also had my polarizing lens to control reflections on the water as desired. A tripod might be nice for some shots to keep your ISO low, for focus stacking, or for including yourself in the shots to show the relative size of these massive rock formations.

Compositions

There really are just an endless variety of compositions here. The only limitation I felt here was the time to explore before the tide window ended. There are many opportunities for framing (grass from the cliffside, rock formation and caves on the beach).

Conclusion

Three Sisters and Elephant Rock is a great stop on your travels through New Zealand. Plan it right, and you can explore the beach and create some unique compositions of these stunning formations. The views you see may not be the same as what came before or what comes after, but that is what makes it so special.