Ruakuri Bushwalk

Great walk! Amazing sections of forest and the caves and natural bridge are really impressive. Nice easy walk for family.

If you’re a family in the area, I would highly recommend this easy little walk. The track took my wee ones (14, 10, 7, & 2yo) about an hour to do, with me only needing to assist the 2yo in some points to help navigate stairs.On the walk there’s stairs, little bridges + suspended platforms, heaps of caves, loads of flowing water, and if you time your trip right, you may even see glow worms - its a wee explorers dream, keep an eye out and you may even see people floating by on inner tubes.Located 5-10minutes from Waitomo town centre, there’s loads of parking, + picnic areas at the entrance. There’s also more than a few places you can sit along the walk if you’re like me and tire easily haha.Now if you’re an adrenaline junkie, or if you’ve done huge hikes through Arthur’s Pass then this track may seem a little lacklustre, but if you have smaller kids, or mobility issues then this walk is a beautiful walk through NZ bush, with lots of educational signs along the way which explain how the caves were formed, and a great way to see some of the natural beauty found alongDo this lil track then head down the road, to Marokopa Falls so the kids can grow an idea of the journey water takes.

Beautiful bush walk. Go at your own pace and can take photos.

Very nice bushwalk. Absolutely next to the cave visit nearby.

Ruakuri means ‘Den of Dogs’ and was named by the chief Tanetinorau who was travelling through the area when one of his party was attacked bywild kurī (Polynesians dogs) defending their den. The area is of much spiritual and cultural significance to Māori.A real highlight of the Waitomo area, this spectacular loop walk takes you through a forested gorge, past natural sculpted cliffs and under low limestone arches.The track follows the stream and then winds up around a network of limestone bluffs and outcrops before descending down to the Ruakuri Natural Bridge viewing platform.The entrance to the viewing platform is dark, so take care when walking down the steps. The platform extends out over a large cavernous tunnel where you can see large speleothems (stalactites and stalagmites) and a stream running along the bottom.Glowworms illuminate the banks of the track at night. The best place to see them is at either side of the main bridge.The walk is in the Ruakuri Caves and Bush Scenic Reserve which encompasses 114 ha of native bush and limestone formations.A number of native birds fly through the scenic reserve, around the car park, and around the track. More commonly seen forest birds include kereru (native wood pigeon), tui, piwakawaka (fantail) and tauhou (waxeye). Karearea (New Zealand falcon) are often seen and heard from the car park.Dolines (enclosed depressions), karren (fluted outcrops), arches tunnels and caves are collectively known as karst. This special landscape is a feature of Waitomo, with the Waitomo Caves world famous for their beauty and abundance of glow worms.

This short bush walk is a hike that you should not miss when you are in the area. Raised wooden walkways and stairways, streams, little waterfalls, wooded well developed trails, natural caves that you walk through, natural rock tunnels, and lots of lush and beautiful scenery! We did the hike in about 40 minutes, since we were taking our time and taking photos.The hike is an easy one, and it is manageable for almost anyone. It’s a good trail for families, too.We will definitely do this hike again when we visit the area!

Came here just after dark and saw TONS of glowworms! Probably the most you can see in the wild for free. But, wished we could also be there during the day to see into the caves better, they looked super cool!! Still fun at night though.

A nice quick walk in NZ cave area. Unfortunately, it wasn’t dark enough to see any glow worms but the views are nice and the natural viewing platform inside the tunnel is stunning.

One of the best short walks I've come across. And that's saying something for NZ walks. The kids managed it just fine too