Stacked rocks are not something new. In fact they have been around for centuries. Their original purpose was as a memorial or a marker and they were called “cairns”. The most frequent use of cairns were to mark a trail and many trails are still marked with cairns.
Recently rock stacking has become more of an art form without any real meaning. This is the case for this massive display of cairns located along the Great Ocean Road near Apollo Bay. This site has become somewhat of an unlikely coastal tourist hotspot after visitors started taking the natural formation of beach worn rocks and making stacked rock towers next to the bay.
There are so many cairns on this beach that it really just doesn’t seem possible but it just shows how something really big can be created by a lot of people doing just a little. There is really no way to know how many people created cairns at this location and how long it took to become filled with this many cairns. Most of the cairn are relatively small but some of them are 4 to 5 feet tall and probably took a fair amount of time to build.
While driving along the Great Ocean Road, this site can easily be missed as it is located on a small beach with no signs marking the location because it isn’t really an acknowledge tourist stop but just a site that grew from people wanting to have a little fun. Now it is a place that you can stop for a break and add your own cairn to be a part of this strange creation or just wander around in amazement trying to understand how many different people came before you and took the time to leave their mark.
I really enjoyed seeing this unusual and somewhat mystical place. While rock stacking on this beach doesn’t serve any real purpose it is a fun place and it give you a place actually be part of something that someone else will enjoy.
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When unearthed by future archaeologists they may conclude these were arranged to measure time and seasons!
That is possible. Archaeologists find something old and try to come up with some great meaning for it but it may just have a simple purpose.
We have seen the “Stacked Rocks” everywhere we have been in the world . They can be amazing but it is not much more than a fad in most cases , some have spiritual meaning. The ones in your amazing pictures are the largest concentration I have seen . I think the amount has to do with the shape of the rocks in the area .
I have seen stacked rocks in other places around the world but this is also the largest number that I have seen. It was large enough that I thought is was worth making a post on so that others might be able to enjoy seeing it.