Rock fall hits car, just misses pair

A mother and daughter have narrowly avoided being crushed after a rock fall near Queenstown yesterday.

Karen Jenkins and her 22-year-old daughter Tamsin were travelling on Glenorchy road, about 20km from Queenstown, when the rocks struck the bonnet of their vehicle about 2pm.

The pair had stopped on a narrow section of road to let two on-coming vehicles pass, Constable Hugh O'Reilly said.

"Just as they stopped...there's been a rockfall from the bluffs above them," he told The Southland Times.

The impact left a deep dent in the bonnet and smashed the windscreen.

Both mother and daughter were uninjured.

Mr O'Reilly said at least one of the rocks was more than 60cm in diameter and would have required two people to move it.

Council roading manager Ian Marshall said about two cubic metres of debris had fallen from the bluffs.

A geologist was due to inspect the rock face on Monday.

- NZPA