Giant barnacle-covered object washes up on Muriwai Beach

  • 10/12/2016
"I just thought, 'What the hell is that?'" - Melissa Doubleday (Supplied)
"I just thought, 'What the hell is that?'" - Melissa Doubleday (Supplied)

An Auckland woman got a shock when she drove past Murawai Beach yesterday, spotting a huge and mysterious object lying on the sand.

Melissa Doubleday and her partner pulled over to photograph the mammoth dreadlocked thing around 7:30pm on Friday night.

"I just thought, 'What the hell is that?'" Ms Doubleday told Newshub.

She posted the photos to Facebook on Saturday, asking: "Just curious to know if anyone knows what this is??! Washed up on Muriwai Beach." 

Giant barnacle-covered object washes up on Muriwai Beach

(Supplied/Melissa Doubleday)

Just as unexpected was the reaction, with nearly 50 people joining the discussion on what the thing could be.

While there was speculation that the object was an alien pod time capsule, H.P Lovecraft's sea monster Cthulhu, Falcor from The NeverEnding Story or a Rastafarian whale, Ms Doubleday confirmed it was nothing more than a massive piece of driftwood.

Giant barnacle-covered object washes up on Muriwai Beach

(Supplied/Melissa Doubleday)

The creepy-crawly things covering it appear to be gooseneck barnacles, which while freaky, are not harmful to the public. 

The giant log is located around 5km from the creek end of Murawai Beach, and will probably be attracting a few more curious visitors in the coming days.

Newshub.