Cathedral Caves

46°36′30.40″S 169°22′52.56″E / 46.6084444°S 169.3812667°E / -46.6084444; 169.3812667Age160 myaGeologySandstoneOperatorKāi TahuWebsitehttps://www.cathedralcaves.co.nz/

The Cathedral Caves are two connected limestone sea caves located on Waipati Beach, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Papatowai, on the Catlins Coast in the southeast corner of New Zealand's South Island.^[1] The two main entrances join together within the cliff to form one big cave. One arm of the cave has a 30 metres (98 ft) high ceiling.^[2] Often blue penguins will emerge from the gloom at the far end of the cave. And occasionally a sealion might be around. ^{[citation needed]}

The 199m-long cave is formed in Jurassic sandstone (about 160 million years old) of the Murihiku Terrane, though the cave itself is much younger, ten to hundreds of thousands of years old.^{[citation needed]} They were named by Thomas Hocken who noted how the caves reverberated noise^[3] and their resemblance to European cathedrals.^[4] The caves are open during summer - about mid October to mid April and only accessible when conditions are safe - see Cathedral Caves website for opening times. They are managed by Kāi Tahu descendants.^[5] A small entry charge is payable by card only.

Cathedral Caves

The exterior of the cave entrance
The interior of the cave
The entrance to the cave

References

^ Welcome to Cathedral Caves Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Tautuku Block X Section 3c Trust. Accessed 2008-01-20.
^ "Cathedral Caves". www.cathedralcaves.co.nz. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
^ "The Caves". www.cathedralcaves.co.nz. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
^ "Cathedral Caves". Catlins, New Zealand. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
^ "Cathedral Caves". Department Of Conservation. Retrieved 13 February 2021.