The beach seems more rocky from this end!

The cliffs are layered with sediment from the sea and volcanic ash from the past eruptions of Mt. Taranaki, cut and eroded by streams and copious rainfall.

Layers can be seen in the large boulders that fall from the cliffs. In this chunk it looks like a charcoal layer, from burning forest during a volcanic eruption, or purposeful burning of the forest by the Maori or Europeans?

And last night’s rain storm, complete with lightning and thunder and buckets of rain, leached clay out of the cliffs and sent it flowing to the sea.