Cathedral Caves Walk
Cathedral Caves Walk
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4.0
178 reviews
Excellent
92
Very good
51
Average
16
Poor
6
Terrible
13
fairyjasmine
Hamilton, New Zealand215 contributions
Jan 2021 • Family
As others have said. The caves are tide dependant, so check before you go. They have their opening times based on the tides on a particular given day on their official website. A bit of a queue to pay the fees that will eat your time, as there is only a small window when we can visit, give yourself plenty of time to get there
1km walk through the forest downhill with gentle gradient, then 500m or so through flat sandy beach to get to the caves. Very exposed and windy when we were there, so bring a jacket with you.
The caves were huge and spectacular, natural wonder. You can enter through one and walk out of the other. I’d recommend it if you enjoy nature
Given that there was a charge to visit this place, better toilet facilities will highly be appreciated
1km walk through the forest downhill with gentle gradient, then 500m or so through flat sandy beach to get to the caves. Very exposed and windy when we were there, so bring a jacket with you.
The caves were huge and spectacular, natural wonder. You can enter through one and walk out of the other. I’d recommend it if you enjoy nature
Given that there was a charge to visit this place, better toilet facilities will highly be appreciated
Written 16 January 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Brian S
Tyler, TX2 contributions
Nov 2023 • Couples
This place is amazing. I've seen cathedral caves before that are more like half domes cut out of the rock by the waves. But this is a legitimate cave that goes back into the cliff side and then exits out another cavern further down the beach. There was even a penguin nest with two chicks in one of the crevices.
The hike down to the beach follows switchbacks through pristine forest with vines and ferns, preparing you for the other worldly experience at the beach. A short walk down the beach brings you to the first cave entrance. Recommendation is to either bring water shoes, or ditch your shoes and socks before you attempt to enter. There is a small strip of sand between the beach and the ocean, but depending on the tide and the waves it's not always dry. Wading into the cave though added to the experience.
Don't skip this one just because someone who didn't even go down to the caves gave it a 1 because they refused to pay the nominal fee for access.
The hike down to the beach follows switchbacks through pristine forest with vines and ferns, preparing you for the other worldly experience at the beach. A short walk down the beach brings you to the first cave entrance. Recommendation is to either bring water shoes, or ditch your shoes and socks before you attempt to enter. There is a small strip of sand between the beach and the ocean, but depending on the tide and the waves it's not always dry. Wading into the cave though added to the experience.
Don't skip this one just because someone who didn't even go down to the caves gave it a 1 because they refused to pay the nominal fee for access.
Written 8 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GaryandLesleyTravel
Auckland Central, New Zealand7,814 contributions
Feb 2021 • Couples
During our 5 day visit to the Catlins this was by far the most popular spot for travellers, that said it still wasn’t overly busy. You need to time the tides right to gain access to the caves as it must be low tide so access is available two hours before low tide and one hour after low tide when tides fall within daylight hours of 7.30am and 9.00pm.
If you have time there are more caves a little further on. That said the main event remains the 199 metre u turn cave with 2 openings. While down on the coast take the time to view yet another beautiful beach. The climb up the hill (100 vertical metres over a 1.5km track) has a couple of steep spots. We viewed both sets of caves and were down and back in 75 minutes. The caves are closed and inaccessible over the winter months. Entry is $10 per adult and $2 per child. EFTPOS available.
If you have time there are more caves a little further on. That said the main event remains the 199 metre u turn cave with 2 openings. While down on the coast take the time to view yet another beautiful beach. The climb up the hill (100 vertical metres over a 1.5km track) has a couple of steep spots. We viewed both sets of caves and were down and back in 75 minutes. The caves are closed and inaccessible over the winter months. Entry is $10 per adult and $2 per child. EFTPOS available.
Written 2 February 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hayley A
24 contributions
Feb 2020 • Couples
Visited the caves on 27 February 2020. They are truly beautiful and the walk down is lovely. Be warned - the waves can come high even at low tide so take spare shoes to change into once you've explored and are back on the beach and make sure you're in shorts or rolled up trousers!
It gets very busy when people are waiting to go in and we were forced to park at the side of the road in the queue which felt very unsafe, until a local and pointed out a safer spot down the road to wait until the traffic clears. I'm not sure if it was like this every day because we were told by another person that they started letting people in half an hour before the gates opened which would ease congestion.
The parking attendant/host was really friendly and efficient in a super busy situation which was impressive!
International tourists please note that they do take credit card but with a $5 transaction fee! If not it's $10pp cash or EFTPOS.
It gets very busy when people are waiting to go in and we were forced to park at the side of the road in the queue which felt very unsafe, until a local and pointed out a safer spot down the road to wait until the traffic clears. I'm not sure if it was like this every day because we were told by another person that they started letting people in half an hour before the gates opened which would ease congestion.
The parking attendant/host was really friendly and efficient in a super busy situation which was impressive!
International tourists please note that they do take credit card but with a $5 transaction fee! If not it's $10pp cash or EFTPOS.
Written 26 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jimontour99
Auckland Central, New Zealand18 contributions
Jan 2021 • Family
The caves are open and this is one of the few places in the Catlins that is jammed with tourists. Queues to get in to the to small car park. Privately owned there is a charge to get in. The entry fee has just been doubled to $10 per adult and $2 per child. Caves are ok but wasn’t a highlight of our Catlins stay.
Highly recommend McLeans Falls, Lake Wilkie and Taumuku Beach in this area.
Highly recommend McLeans Falls, Lake Wilkie and Taumuku Beach in this area.
Written 10 January 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
lambertc887
Hamilton, New Zealand45 contributions
Apr 2021 • Couples
There are better bush walks in the area and track isn't particularly well maintained considering the charge implies it pays for the upkeep. Of course the access to the sea cave is the main draw card but there are also other beautiful caves on our shores in NZ that are free to visit. It is a busy tourist spot and the limited viewing time means you will be surrounded with other people. Bit disappointed with the experience.
Written 5 April 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stephenwwood
Palmerston North, New Zealand30 contributions
Jan 2023 • Family
Left a bad taste with the whole family, felt like a complete rip off. Access road in very poor condition, perhaps some of the exorbitant fees could be spent on maintenance. Caves themselves where as described - would suggest checking out the many impressive waterfalls in the area instead of these caves.
Written 1 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
santo t
Auckland, New Zealand7,404 contributions
Dec 2019
It is a sea cave made by the power of sea wave, so it has limitation how far it can be made by the power of the wave. In this Cathedral Cave the distance is no longer than 150m, still spectacular and awesome experience to walk along and inside of this cave. Because of the high and low tide dependant, visitors are only able to enter at specific times each day depend on the tide calendar, usually the window time to visit is no more than 3 hours per day per tide cycle. Drive off the main road approx. 2km from Chaslands Highway to the car park, and then walk to the forest for half km and reach the beach front, and finally walk along the beach at low tide along another half km to the mouth of the cave. There are two mouth interconnected each other, you choose which one to start with. It is spectacular structure and fantastic experience to see the roof structure and shape of the cave. However, it is not free attraction, you need to pay the ticket, $10 per adult and $2 per child for the use of car park and entry access to the bush and cave. It is worth to try, do the website check firstly to find the tide calendar each day to avoid disappointment.
Written 6 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
horseymum_11
Cirencester, UK893 contributions
Mar 2020
As other reviewers have said, it's important to check the website for opening times. We arrived in good time, but the car park was already filling up - after paying our entrance fee we were shown where to park as we had quite a large camper (the drive to the car park is a bit steep and windy, especially if you have a largish vehicle, luckily there was nothing coming the other way!) . the walk down to the beach is attractive, and the beach is beautiful. Even though the tide had gone out plenty far enough for us to enter the caves, several large waves did race up on to the beach again, enough to knock the unwary off their feet. The walk back to the car park worked up an appetite for a visit to the Whistling Frog not too far away.
Written 19 April 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
exploringnz
Dunedin, New Zealand27 contributions
Jan 2022
I had always wanted to see the cathedral caves and on this visit to the Catlins we got the opportunity. We got down to the beach after a short walk down the track and those caves were pretty big. There are effectively two caves joined at the back to create one mega cave. Well worth seeing.
What isn't so well known though is that if you continue around the headland there are numerous other caves round there that the official website calls "A few smaller caves are located further along the cliffs" when it says a few smaller caves it is talking about caves just as big as the main one but not joined at the back but also not filled with people. I would recommend these caves too as there is so much to explore around there but you have to be adventurous as it involves going through knee high to waist high water to get to the other beach containing those caves. I also noticed that the water is actually deeper right near the cliffs so it seems to be better to go a litte further out from them (about 20 meters or so). There is one cave there that is like a keyhole that you can see inside but not go inside unless you were some kind of caver I guess. There is another one that is extremely narrow but you can squeeze through to a larger area and another one that is big like the main one. There are probably others but I didn't have time to explore them all as my family was worried by my absence. Overall I would highly recommend those other caves - just don't get drowned!
What isn't so well known though is that if you continue around the headland there are numerous other caves round there that the official website calls "A few smaller caves are located further along the cliffs" when it says a few smaller caves it is talking about caves just as big as the main one but not joined at the back but also not filled with people. I would recommend these caves too as there is so much to explore around there but you have to be adventurous as it involves going through knee high to waist high water to get to the other beach containing those caves. I also noticed that the water is actually deeper right near the cliffs so it seems to be better to go a litte further out from them (about 20 meters or so). There is one cave there that is like a keyhole that you can see inside but not go inside unless you were some kind of caver I guess. There is another one that is extremely narrow but you can squeeze through to a larger area and another one that is big like the main one. There are probably others but I didn't have time to explore them all as my family was worried by my absence. Overall I would highly recommend those other caves - just don't get drowned!
Written 18 January 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hello all. The low tide timing in the website for the days where I am planning to visit the caves would be 7:47AM and 8.32AM (two different days)
I was thinking for 7.47AM, is it even possible to visit the caves when they gates would be open only at 7.30am? Or, will they make an exception and open much earlier.
Anyone experienced this cave with an early low tide timing?
Written 4 April 2018
Hi there I am just replying to Judith K's review as she has a number of inaccuracies. The attendant is up at the car park 2 kms away from the gate that is locked. Obviously the time changes each day as it is a tidal attraction so opening and closing is controlled by the sea! And finally and most importantly the Caves are opened not for just 2 hours but actually for at least 4 hours. Its open 2 hours before low tide and 2 hours after, access dependent. If the seas are very high and their is a swell running they may delay opening for a 1/2 hour or so while it is being checked for safety but if the tide is low as it sometimes is due to full moon's influence then they can well be open 3 hours after low tide, oh and the hill you have to walk up thats steep, you actually have to walk down it first, so pretty sure you would know what you can expect while you are walking down it.
Written 11 January 2017
Thanks for that actually I said they can only be accessed close to low tide, so I was not implying it is at the whim of someone. When we went they only opened the gate between 8am and 10am. However the gate was going to be opened again in the late afternoon for the evening low tide. So perhaps if it is only open once in the day it is open for longer. It is good to make people aware before they start out that it is quite steep, so they know before they get there. Thanks for clarifying those things. I gave this attraction 5 stars. I know of a number of people who have missed it due to gate opening times. I wanted people to know how to check the times in advance. It is a real gem and a shame if people miss it.
Written 13 January 2017
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