The Cathedral Caves are two connected limestone sea caves located on Waipati Beach, south of Papatowai, on the Catlins Coast in the southeast corner of New Zealand's South Island. The two main cave systems join together within the cliff and one has a high ceiling. Often blue penguins and fur seals will emerge from the gloom at the far end of the cave. The 199m-long cave is formed in

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...

sandstone (about 160 million years old) of the

Murihiku Terrane The Southland Syncline is a major geological structure located in the Southland Region of New Zealand's South Island. The syncline folds the Mesozoic greywackes of the Murihiku Terrane. The northern limb of the fold is steep to overturned, whil ...

, though the cave itself is much younger, ten to hundreds of thousands of years old. They were named by

Thomas Hocken Thomas Morland Hocken (14 January 1836 – 17 May 1910) was a New Zealand collector, bibliographer and researcher. Early life He was born in Rutlandshire on 14 January 1836, the son of Wesleyan minister Joshua Hocken, and educated at Woodhouse ...

who noted how the caves reverberated noise and their resemblance to European cathedrals. The caves are only accessible for an hour either side of low tide. They are managed by Kāi Tahu descendants.

References

External links

Official website
- Information about the caves, including tide charts and pictures {{Tourism-stub Rock formations of Otago Coastline of New Zealand Caves of New Zealand Southern Scenic Route Sea caves The Catlins Tourist attractions in Otago Clutha District