Cave Creek is a beautiful spot, with giant mossy boulders and an incredibly atmospheric cave. It looks like something straight out of a fairytale. The walk to get there is pleasant, but the trail is not particularly memorable, it’s definitely one where the destination is the wow factor.
Sadly it also has a tragic past, which is why the trail was re-named the Cave Creek Memorial Track. It commemorates the 14 lives lost when the viewing platform collapsed in 1995. Despite this awful event there is an aura of peace at the creek and it remains a lovely place to visit.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Cave Creek Memorial Track.
The Cave Creek Memorial Track
Know before you go
We normally save logistics for the end of the post, but in this case it’s vital as to whether you can actually do the walk. The issue is the road, and more specifically the road after very heavy rain. After periods of prolonged rainfall the road can flood and the car park becomes inaccessible.
There are warning signs as you head up the road so you’ll know you’re going to have an issue before you get stuck, but basically you are told to turn around if there is any water across the road at a specific point. It rained a lot during our visit to the area and the road was fine, so I think it has to be extreme rain, but it’s worth giving DOC a call ahead of time if you’re coming out of your way to do this trail.
The other thing to note is that the road is gravel and very narrow. It was fine in a small car but we were really glad not to meet anyone coming the other way! Definitely drive slowly as there are so many blind corners.
The two possible start points
There are two potential car parks depending on what type of vehicle you have. The first is a DOC car park and the road to get here is maintained and suitable for any cars (at time of writing). A further 1.1km along the road there is a second smaller car park. This section of road is unmaintained and has a few rocky patches which require some clearance (including one rubbly river bed crossing).
The road between the two car parks is flat and the scenery is pretty, so it’s no hardship to walk, but if you do have a car with clearance you might want to drive a little further and knock 2.2km off the total walking distance.
Note that if you’re driving a rental car you might not be insured on an unmaintained road.
The Cave Creek Memorial Walk
The stats
Distance: 5.4km return from the DOC car park
Elevation gained: 140m
Difficulty: Easy but not flat
The Cave Creek Memorial Track is an easy walk with some uphill climbing, but all on good well maintained trail. Once you get down to the creek there is no longer a formed path, so any exploring there is more rough and requires care.
Starting the trail at the first car park
From the first car park you begin heading down the road and cross over the old wooden bridge after 330m. There are orange trail marker signs all the way to the second car park.
The road is pretty much all flat and the scenery is very pretty, with some nice limestone cliffs and plenty of greenery.
There are lots of trees currently being planted so it will only get more beautiful over time. After 1.1km you will arrive at a signpost and there’s another small car park.
Onto the walking trail
From here you’ll enter the proper walking trail, although the very beginning still feels like a rocky road! The path heads uphill and after 300m you’ll arrive at the memorial stone where you’ll find details about the terrible events of the 1995 disaster.
It’s extremely sad and DOC’s role in it has not been whitewashed as the inquiry concluded the viewing platform that collapsed was not built to regulations. The only positive to come from this is that all DOC structures were overhauled and made much more safe to hopefully ensure there is never a repeat of the accident.
As you leave the memorial site you start heading downhill and then the trail begins to undulate. You are walking in-between bushland, but it’s not dense so you don’t really feel like you’re properly in the forest.
My favourite thing about this part of the walk was the sheer number of tuis, who provided a constant soundtrack to the trail which made it feel very serene.
It’s just under a kilometre from the memorial site when you begin to enter denser forest and it becomes much more spectacular.
Just before you reach the staircases you’ll see a wooden fence just off trail to the right. This is where the old lookout used to be, but it goes without saying not to venture off the path as it might not be stable.
Arriving at Cave Creek
Roughly 1.4km after leaving the second car park and a short distance into the mossy part of the forest you’ll arrive at a series of staircases.
These staircases take you down to the creek bed over roughly 200m of track. It’s beautiful down there and as it’s usually dry you can move around quite easily.
My absolute favourite part of the creek was off to the right where you see the atmospheric cave opening for which the creek is named.
It’s dripping in moss and opens up like a chasm, a yawning mouth full of crystal clear water. It definitely looks like it could be part of a film set.
On our visit the water was quite deep (well above waist level) so I didn’t venture in even though it was sorely tempting. I also hadn’t heard about anyone going in to the cave itself and wasn’t sure whether it’s actually safe to do so.
After I got back I found out that the first cave can be swum through in very good conditions only, which means when the water level is very low. Beyond the first chamber the cave system is huge and for highly experienced cavers only.
When you’ve finished exploring the amazing creek it’s time to head back to the car park. The first 700m are all uphill, with 500m being pretty steep.
After that the trail eases up and it’s a leisurely stroll back to your car.
Getting to Cave Creek
Cave Creek is located in the Paparoa National Park and the turn off from the highway is just a few kilometres from the village of Punakaiki. From here the road is narrow and gravel as mentioned above. You’ll have approximately 6km to travel along this road to get to the DOC car park and a further kilometre to the next car park, details above.
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