I recommend you check the tide times before you leave as there are only a few hours the caves are fully accessible https://www.cathedralcaves.co.nz/tides
From the car park you'll head down through the forest (about 15-20 minutes down hill) to the beach, from here it's about 15 minutes walk along the beach to the entrances of the Cathedral Cave. I recommend you double check you have everything (including a torch to see some of the special features in the cave) before you leave the car park.
Now at the listed co-ordinates you're looking at what appears to be two caves next to each other, in fact these have joined together making 199 metres in total passage length. This is currently 1 of the 30 longest known sea caves in the world.
Sea caves are formed by the mechanical action of the waves which erodes the rock (in this case the Jurassic Sandstone) along weakness such as fractures or faults. Over time the waves slowly expand these very narrow faults from the size of something you could just about slide in a piece of paper to these massive caves you can happily walk in.
If the tide is low enough, go further around the headland to see other caves at the different formation stages.
Now on how to claim this earth cache:
All of the information about this Cave is related its length, but Cathedrals are impressive because of their heights. So I'd like you to calculate how high the mechanical action of the waves have made an entrance:
Pick either the east or west entrance (or both if you really want to) and calculate the height of the entrance (see hint for how to use protractor), please message me a copy of your working outs to get a smile.
(Optional) It would be really nice if you could also include a photo of you or GPS with the entrance (s) you've selected in the background.
Wish to attend New Zealand’s next large multi-day event? GCA7ZHD Geo Toroa will be held on NZ’s Labour Day long weekend 26-27th October 2024 in Dunedin. Details in the link below;
