Rawhiti Cave

An absolutely amazing cave with large stalagtites and stalagmites!It’s a little bit of a hike up to the cave, by the effort is worth it to see this unique formation.The trail to the cave is well developed and goes through a forested area, but rocky and steep in some places, and can be a little slippery if the trail is wet.There are some beautiful scenic views of the surrounding mountains and valleys from the trail.Wear good boots or hiking shoes, and be sure to take some water and snacks.If you are in fairly good condition, the hike will be no problem for you, but it might be tough for kids or for less healthy or less well conditioned hikers.The cave entrance has plenty of stairs and platforms, so getting into the cave is easy.It took around 3 hours for us to hike up to the cave, spend time there relaxing and having lunch, then hike back down.Take the time for an afternoon hike to see this amazing cave!

Quirky little gem. To see the Rawhiti cave up the Dry River gully near Takaka is worth the hike.Over long periods of time, plant growth on the cave formations causes them to grow towards the sunlight as more calcium carbonate is deposited regularly on top of the plant growth. This causes the stalactites near the entrance to curve outside towards the light.

At the end of a bumpy road, a parking lot in front of a gate. Open this gate and prepare yourself for 2.2km of waiting. The first half was easy. The path is large and mostly flat. Then you reach a sign who warns you that the following is at an other level. You better think twice and take this advice quite seriously! To make your decision, you should try a couple of turns. If it's already hard, go back! I mean seriously! It will be more and more challenging! But... If you reach the top, the cave is breathtaking (or maybe you really need to breathe!) We have done this road with teens 15y and 18y. We never have done a walk as hard as this one, but we made it and were all proud of it. A great achievement for our girls!

Fantastic walk - a must do if you’re in the area. My wife and I reached the caves in about 25 minutes, with no rock scrambling required except for crossing the dry riverbed at the start. It did get a little steeper halfway up, but it was fairly easy if you’re an experienced tramper. There is a one way dirt road that you drive on for 900 meters to get to the car park - we made it in our 7.4 meter motorhome, so anyone with a car or smaller motorhome / campervan is fine getting in, though conditions may be a bit rougher if it’s rained a bunch (there were a few potholes to avoid).

The cave is astonishing considering its unique stalactites formation that “grows” towards the sunlight. The track isn’t very hard but very steep of about 30 minutes one way, you can walk part of the track back by the Dry River.

The pictures that exist don't do this place justice so I thought I'd add my own.It's 100% worth the 1h hike to get there! You have to hike up a hill and it can be quite slippery so be careful.It's really just the viewing platform, you can't explore in the cave on your own but it is still breathtaking!

We did this hike yesterday and loved it! The river crossing wasn't great to start off after the rain but improved on our way back! The walk itself was not too hard in the end and well worth the views of the cave at the end! Overall it took us about 1 hr 30 mins of walking/taking photos! Highly recommend just wear the right gear, take care and enjoy!

This is a great spot to go to if you’re in Golden Bay, but the walk was not what I was expecting ! It is almost entirely up hill, going over rocks and over roots, and it is quite steep. It can be VERY slippery and is NOT an easy walk. Please be aware when you go here that you will have to climb up the hill and then back down the same steep path. If you’re unsure about how hard it may be, walk along to the steep part and figure out if it’s something you’re comfortable with.Very cool cave with nice information boards and worth doing if you’re up to the walk.

The car park is at the end of a track beyond a gate. Once there the track starts across the dry bed of a river (January). And then starts to climb. Some large steps up and it is worse on the way down. But it is worth it.

Rawhiti (meaning Sunshine) Cave has the largest entrance of any cave in New Zealand with an opening of about 40 metres wide and up to 20 metres in height. The ceiling is densely covered in stalactites.I'm generally not a fan of caves. They are cold, dark places, usually you are waiting for bad things (bad luck) to happen. They use to run guided tours at Rawhiti Cave but a 7.8 earthquake in 1929, quickly ruined that ideal.It takes approximately 15 minutes to drive from Takaka to the carpark.This cave is different to others as it receives winter sun. So the the stalactites at the cave entrance and within the cave itself contain plant matter that are attracted to the light ( Phytokarst features ). So these stalactites actually grow towards the light instead of straight down.It is free to see and the cave structure itself dates back at least one million years.Rawhiti Cave has the most diverse twilight-zone flora of any cave in New Zealand. You can walk onto a viewing platform just inside the cave entrance.Know before you go. The track crosses a dry river bed, which is prone to flash flooding after heavy rain. You will have limited time to escape as you hear the sound and roar of a freight train approaching. You will hear a tremendous noise. This is the flash flood. This dry river bed has huge boulders, the size of a motor car. There is debris everywhere along the track.If has been raining heavily, it is advisable not to proceed. On the track there have been land slips, huge trees have fallen down etc.The stream which formed this cave over a million years ago is now buried deep below the ground, but the constant dripping of calcium-rich water through cracks in the cave roof - and the resulting calcite deposits caused by evaporation - is what eventually produces the amazing cone-shaped and tubular stalactites you see on the ceiling of Rawhiti Cave. Stalagmites also then grow upward from the floor of the cave, as a result of the slow constant dripping from overhanging stalactites.