Cave Creek Track

The track begins at the end of Bullock Creek Rd, which is access from from SH6 just north of Punakaiki. Follow Bullock Creek Rd for 6 km to the parking area at the end of the road. Note that DOC may occasionally close Bullock Creek Rd due to flooding.

From the car park, follow the farm road across the usually-dry bed of Bullock Creek to the T intersection and turn right. Continue for a short distance to the Cave Creek Track turnoff, where the memorial monument to the 1995 Cave Creek disaster is positioned. Inland Pack Track continues straight from this intersection (the connection with Paparoa Track/Pororari River Track is 4.3 km from here).

Cave Creek Track climbs gently over a low ridge before descending gradually to the edge of the steep-sided Cave Creek / Kotihotiho gorge, which cannot be seen from above. The track then descends through a series of wooden staircases into the narrow gorge below. The gorge floor is strewn with moss-covered boulders and largely shaded by podocarp forest that overhangs the gorge sides. The resurgence emerges from Main Spring, and occasionally from Cave Creek Cave following periods of heavy rainfall.

Return the way you came.

On 28 April 1995, 13 students from Tai Poutini Polytechnic and one Department of Conservation (DOC) staff member lost their lives when a viewing platform overlooking the Cave Creek resurgence collapsed. The group fell approximately 30 metres into the gorge below. Four students survived, some with serious injuries. Subsequent investigations found that the structure had not been designed or constructed to an appropriate standard. The disaster led to a Commission of Inquiry and prompted major reforms to health and safety practices, engineering oversight, and the management of visitor infrastructure throughout New Zealand. The viewing platform was never rebuilt.

The water flowing from the Cave Creek resurgence originates primarily from Bullock Creek / Punungairo. Upstream of where the track crosses Bullock Creek, much of the stream disappears underground through a series of stream sinks known collectively as Taurus Major. Instead of continuing westward towards the coast, the water flows south through a network of alluvial gravels, caves and limestone conduits within the Paparoa karst system. It then re-emerges at a number of springs within the Cave Creek gorge, including the main resurgence at the end of the track. Additional springs occur further downstream, with some only becoming active during periods of high flow. While Bullock Creek provides the majority of the water, the resurgence is also fed by groundwater and rainfall recharge from the wider karst landscape.

An interesting consequence of this underground diversion is that Bullock Creek often carries little or no surface flow downstream of the Taurus Major stream-sinks. During periods of heavy rainfall, however, the capacity of the sinks can be exceeded and Bullock Creek resumes its surface journey towards the coast. During major floods, Cave Creek is reported to produce the highest discharge of any karst resurgence in New Zealand.

The karst landscape surrounding Cave Creek Track features numerous shafts, sinkholes and bluffs, often obscured by dense vegetation. Do not deviate from the track.