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Punakaiki Caves Walk
.jpg&width=400&height=267 "Punakaiki Caves Walk")
| Location: West Coast of the South Island |
| Nearest Town: Punakaiki Village |
| Nearest City: Westport |
| Length of tramp: 50m |
| Time needed: 1 min |
| Difficulty: Very Easy |
| Route: One way |
| Elevation: 5m |
| Wet Feet: No |
| Toilets: Yes in Punakaiki |
| Dogs: No |
| Mobile phone coverage: Yes |
| Date this tramp was last walked: 2010 |
| Track quality: The floor of the caves can be slippery. |
| Hazards: Wear a crash helmet and take a torch |
| Transport: Westport to Greymouth bus |
| Water: No |
| Driving Instructions: From Westport take highway 67 to Reefton. 6km south turn right on to highway 6 to Greymouth via Punakaiki. Charleston Township is another 25km. The next point is Fox River at 45km. There is a good walk into Fox River Caves well worth the walk. The Irimahuwhero lookout is also a good place to stop. Punakaiki is just another 2km. 500m before the township at the bottom of the hill on the left is the entrance to the caves. |
| Camping on track: No |
| Track highlights: The Punakaiki Cavern is a Karst cave, formed with a combination of water and carbon dioxide, carving out the cave from the Oligocene limestone. Well worth a look around. The cavern also features glow worms and stalactites. |
Map of Punakaiki Caves Walk :
This is a dynamic map. You can zoom in and out using the "+" and "-" buttons, drag the map to see surrounding areas and click on the flags to see each position on the map
Detailed track description for
Punakaiki Caves Walk:
Punakaiki Caves
.jpg "Punakaiki Caves")
.jpg "Punakaiki Caves")
.jpg "Punakaiki Caves")
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Punakaiki Caves Walk - start
.jpg "Punakaiki Caves Walk - start")
.jpg "Punakaiki Caves Walk - start")
.jpg "Punakaiki Caves Walk - start")
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Park the car on the right hand side of the road. The entrance is easy to find. You walk down in to the hidden rain forest. Then up the stair case to the entrance of the cave.
You need to make your way to the left there is a marker to follow.
Watch the slippery floor at the beginning.
Punakaiki Caves - more photos
.jpg "Punakaiki Caves - more photos")
.jpg "Punakaiki Caves - more photos")
.jpg "Punakaiki Caves - more photos")
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.jpg&width=90 "Punakaiki Caves, New Zealand")
.jpg&width=90 "Punakaiki Caves - more photos, New Zealand")
.jpg&width=90 "Punakaiki Caves Walk - start, New Zealand")