Walk Details

NZ Walking Routes > Nelson > Golden Bay > Rawhiti Cave route

Rawhiti Cave route

Location

From Takaka, drive east towards Pohara Beach. At Motupipi turn right into Glenview Road and then left into Packard Road. Rawhiti Cave is signposted from near the end of Packard Road through private property to an informal car park. Please leave the gates as you find them. It takes approximately 15 minutes to drive from Takaka to the car park.

Just after you leave the car park you cross Dry River. From here, the marked route continues up the valley for 30 minutes and turns sharply right. It then climbs steeply for a further 30 minutes, zigzagging up to the cave entrance.

Description

Rawhiti Cave has possibly the most diverse and extensive entrance – and twilight-zone flora of any cave in New Zealand. This flora influences the growth of calcium-based features in the cave; hence the stalactites on the cave ceiling grow outwards towards the sunlight. Some of the most significant features produced this way occur in the entrance slopes and cave floor, where they are usually overlooked and trampled by visitors. If you enter the cave, take care not to cause any damage: follow the marked route. The cave extends only a short distance into the hillside. Caution is required here – the floor of the gallery is steep and very slippery.

Duration

1.0 hours

Level

Hard

Amenities

• Carpark
• Historical
• Plant Life
• Tramping

Source

www.doc.govt.nz

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