Rawhiti Cave |
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A detour from Motupipi will take you to the starting point of the hike up to this ancient cave with its enormous entrance studded with thousands of coloured stalactites.
At Motupipi, which is approximately 15 minutes drive from Takaka, 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 carpark. Please leave the gates as you find them. It takes approximately 15 minutes to drive from Takaka to the carpark.
Just after you leave the car park you cross Dry River and then continue up the valley for 30 minutes. The track then climbs steeply for a further 30 minutes, zigzagging up to the cave entrance.
The stream which formed this cave over a million years ago is now deep beneath the gravels of the valley floor but the slow dripping of calcium-rich water continues to build the cave's decorations, which include rimstone pools, columns, and fragile "straws". Now under DOC management.
As explained on the DoC website, the roots of trees growing just above the cave entrance protrude through the cave roof. This influences some of the calcium-based stalactites, causing them to grow outwards towards the sunlight. As a result there are some wonderfully weird looking formations.
Please note: the last section of the hike, from the valley floor up to the cave entrance, is a steep and rough track requiring good fitness and experience. To minimise your impact on the cave floor, please remain on the marked route. Guided tours are available. After heavy rain, Dry River is prone to flooding - do not attempt to cross in these conditions.
Click here to read an article written by Jane Baird (this is a PDF that will open in a separate window).
Jane was for many years the guide at Rawhiti Cave, and guided tours daily (on demand) for eleven years from 26th December 1988—2000. The Baird family owned Rawhiti Cave from 1955 to 31st March 2000, when the family sold the cave and the 164 ha surrounding it (now named Baird Reserve, appropriately), to the New Zealand National Heritage Trust. The article below is from booklet by Will Lawson, entitled Across Marble Mountains by Motor Car to Cape Farewell, New Zealand. It was published in 1920. As I think you will agree, it is an exhilarating cave description.
