1 km cave system
Do not enter the caves if rain is forecast for the day of your visit, if it is currently raining, or if it has rained within the past 24 hours.
Caver climbing a ladder in Clifden Caves. View larger image (JPG, 296K). Image: Dawn Patterson | DOC
Prepare for your visit to Clifden Caves
The journey through Clifden Caves requires careful preparation and is not suitable for everyone. Parts of the cave are covered in pools of very cold water, and you may need to wade through them. Some passages are narrow and will require crawling on hands and knees. You will also need to climb 4 m high ladders.
Read the information on this web page and make sure you have the gear, skills and fitness for the trip.
Do not go during/after rain
The cave can flash flood during or immediately after heavy rain.
Do not enter the caves if rain is forecast for the day of your visit, if it is currently raining, or if it has rained within the past 24 hours.
To check the previous day’s rainfall, visit Metservice cumulative rainfall forecast.
A tight squeeze in Clifden Caves. View larger image (JPG, 196K). Image: Alice Milne (@alice.adventuring)
Bring the right gear
For a safe and comfortable trip, you should have the following items.
- Helmet. There are unstable rocks and low ceilings.
- Torches (2 per person). A head torch and a hand-held torch is best.
- Spare batteries for torches.
- First aid kit.
- Water and food.
- Sturdy footwear with good grip. The floor of the cave is rough, slippery and uneven.
- Clothing that is warm even when wet (polypropylene or wool is good, cotton is not suitable). You are likely to get wet, muddy and cold.
Share your plans
Tell a trusted person your plans, including the return time, route and group members. Ask them to raise the alarm if you haven’t returned. There is no cell phone reception in the cave. For safety, we recommend that you do not go through the cave alone.
Inside Clifden Caves
It will take you around 1.5 to 2 hours to travel through the 1-kilometre-long cave system and return along the road.
We recommend entering the cave at the upper or lower entrances and travelling south to the cave exit (see map below). This will minimise the time spent with wet footwear and clothing after passing through the pool section of the cave.
A high level of fitness and agility is required to navigate the cave system. Some passages are narrow and will require crawling on hands and knees.
Follow the reflective markers which indicate the route through the cave system.
About one hour into the caves there is a small pool which requires a short sidle along a narrow ledge situated around the left hand side of the pool. This pool is cold and deep. Passing along the ledge should be undertaken one person at a time. The ledge is likely to be underwater – be prepared to get wet feet.
Following along from the pool, there is an intersection – stay left in order to exit the cave system safely (the right hand route should only be undertaken by experienced cavers who have ropes and climbing equipment). After the pool there are three 4 m-high ladders. These are only suitable for one person at a time.
Clifden Caves map
Image: DOC
Prepare for your trip
Read the planning and preparation information in the description section carefully, noting the hazards in the cave, the weather conditions in which flash flooding can occur, and the gear you should bring.
Minimise environmental impact
Cave formations take millions of years to form and are very fragile. Do not touch them. Respect any taped barriers to protect cave formations.
Keep group sizes small. At least two people is recommended for safety reasons but no more than six for minimum environmental impact.
Take all your rubbish with you.
Stay on the marked route unless you are an experienced caver
Do not go down unmarked cave passages unless you are an experienced and well-equipped caving group, and are carrying ropes and climbing equipment.
Limestone caves
Limestone caves are the most common type of cave in New Zealand and the world. Limestones are rocks containing high levels of calcium carbonate. The limestone at Clifden formed in the early Miocene time (c. 22-18 million years ago) from the accumulation of shell fragments, sand and pebbles in a shallow sea. This sediment was buried and compressed beneath further layers of sediment and later folded, uplifted and eroded to form the present land surface.
Limestone caves form over a long period of time when acidic groundwater seeps through cracks in the rock and dissolves the calcium carbonate in the surrounding limestone. This creates passageways and unusual formations such as stalactites and stalagmites that gradually become larger and form cave systems.
Stalactites and stalagmites
Stalactites are the spikes hanging from the roof of a limestone cave, and stalagmites are the spires projecting upwards from the floor of the cave. Both form as a result of the precipitation of calcium carbonate continually dripping water from the cave roof over periods of hundreds and thousands of years.
The Clifden Caves feature some spectacular formations on the ceilings and walls. Refrain from touching cave formations as they have taken millions of years to form and are very fragile.
Glow worms/titiwai
Glow worms/titiwai (Arachnocampa luminosa) are a feature of some cave systems. New Zealand glow worms are the larvae of small flies called fungus gnats which undergo a four stage life cycle: egg, larvae, pupae and adult fly. Only the larvae can feed and produce light. This ‘glow’ is used to attract prey which is caught in sticky silk threads that hang from the glow worm nest. These silk fishing lines are then hauled in and the captured insects devoured. The glow worms grow up to 2.5cm before developing into pupae and adult fly stages.
The Clifden Caves provide a natural habitat for the glow worm, which requires a damp environment with little or no wind.
DOC Customer Service Centre
| Phone: | 0800 275 362 |
| Email: | invercargill@doc.govt.nz |
| Address: | Murihiku / Invercargill Office |