Epic Travel → Asia & the South Pacific → New Zealand → The Catlins → Cathedral Caves

♦ Intrepid Top Pick!

Location: The Catlins, South Island, New Zealand

Time Required: 1-2 hours

Red Tape/Notes: $5 per person access/usage fee, open from late October to May, access permitted 7:30am – 8:30pm for approximately three hours around low tide (2 hours prior to low tide and up to 1 hour after)

What’s Nearby?: Lost Gypsy Art Gallery, Lake Wilkie, McLean Falls

These caves are great. To be fair, I really like caves, but I think most people will like these. The main cave is 30 meters tall and about half as wide, so you won’t be feeling claustrophobic if you go inside. The caves are also fairly deep (100 meters), so you get a lot more than your typical shallow sea cave experience. The hike down to the caves is only 1 km, so it should take you around 15 minutes to access the beach and then maybe 5 minutes of walking on the beach to get to the main caves. There are more caves around the bend in the beach and you are most definitely allowed to go and explore them, even if no one else appears to be doing so. Be intrepid. Heck, be only moderately interesting. Walk that extra 200 meters to freedom. Yes, you may have to walk through ankle deep water. But while this may be terrifying, you’ll probably survive. And I’m pretty sure you’ll even dry out eventually. You’ll be rewarded by getting to do more exploring of potentially even better caves – or maybe they just seem better because there are fewer people. Either way, you should do it!

Epic Travel → Asia & the South Pacific → New Zealand → The Catlins → Cathedral Caves