28 Rankers Reviews
20 Face-to-Face
2 Waipu
Marios Gavalas
Author And Researcher
I'm Marios, delivering the best of Aotearoa's nature walks to your device.
I've personally walked hundreds of New Zealand's tracks and spent months in libraries uncovering interesting information on New Zealand/Aotearoa. And you'll find a slice of that research on this page - enjoy!
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The Waipu Caves area features a karst / limestone landscape and weathered rocks. The term "karst" refers to a type of topography that is formed over limestone, dolomite or gypsum by solution of the rock and is characterized by closed depressions or sinkholes, caves and underground drainage.
The natural heritage values of karst areas are high as Karst surface landforms provide a variety of habitats for plant species that are restricted to or favour growing on calcareous soils. They also provide refuges for species that were once more widely spread throughout the landscape.
These areas are important sites for geological, geomorphological, palaeontological and climatological studies.
From S.H.1 at Waipu, follow Shoemaker Road and turn left into unsealed Waipu Caves Road. After 500 metres veer right into Ormiston Road (unsealed). The start of the track is signposted from a small parking bay 13km from Waipu.
The caves are reached by continuing 6km along Waipu Caves Road from the junction with Shoemaker Road. The small parking bay has toilets nearby. The caves are marked at the far side of the paddock, a 2-minute walk from the parking bay.
From Ormiston Road, the track is marked with orange posts. Climb the undulating ridge over grass paddocks for 30 minutes. The track enters regenerating podocarp forest (10 minutes) before dropping down a muddy track to the caves.
The limestone is moderately hard and fine grained and composed of around 80% calcium carbonate. It is a coarse rock, composed of foraminifera (tiny calcareous sea dwelling creatures) and broken shell fragments, with many recognisable fossils. It probably formed as a shell bank in a shallow sea, thus preserving its structure.
Acid dissolved in percolating groundwater has slowly sculpted the caves, which now form a magnificent cavern, easily accessible near the entrance. Take care around the entrance as the rock can be slippery where water dripping from stalactites has left a wet film on the rock below.
Caves provide habitats or shelter for a suite of animal species with varying degrees of reliance on or adaptation to dark, cool, moist conditions with low daily variability.
Bones of bats, birds, amphibians and reptiles are commonly found in caves. Some caves also contain remains of fossil invertebrates, often of previously unknown or locally extinct species.
Karst landscapes are of particular significance to Maori, which is enshrined in the tikanga and kawa (sacred customs and ceremonies) of those with the whakapapa to talk about them.
Feature | Value | Info |
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Organisation |
DOC NorthlandCentral government organisation |
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Location |
North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Waipu |
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Categories |
Thanks to all the good people working for the NZ Department of Conservation - for all your hard work - making NZ more beautiful, accessable and healthy! Cheers 😍