As a self-guided mission you won’t be here for longer than 90 minutes from start to finish, which makes it the perfect add on to a visit to the Castle Hill rocks.
Read on for all the details about the Cave Stream Scenic Reserve, including the safety lowdown. It can be dangerous (exhibit A).
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Safety | Details | Map | How To Get There | Trip Report
CAVE STREAM SCENIC RESERVE SAFETY FACTORS
Nina, as she is exiting the cave.
It’s only 600 metres long, what could go wrong right?
Well, lots of things. And there are no guides to save you if you get in trouble. But, as long as you’re sensible, know your capabilities and are prepared, there’s no reason you can’t have a great time.
p.s. Always walk through the cave AGAINST the flow of the water.
Do note enter the cave if:
- there’s been heavy rain recently
- the water is murky
- the water level is obviously higher than normal
- you aren’t confident
- are on your own, you really should go with at least one other person.
With that said, it’s an experience you should stick to do doing in summer, let’s say from December to April. In the colder months, the water temperatures drop and hypothermia is a higher risk. Even if it’s a sunny winters day, the water levels can be high from the melting snow.
In terms of what to bring:
- Ideally, you’ll have a wetsuit. That’s not going to be practical for a lot of you, so just do your best, wearing wool and polypropylene gear if you can. You won’t get muddy as such, but you’ll get wet at least up to your waist and up to your chest potentially (if you’re like under five foot it’s going to get up to your head).
- A head torch. Or at least a waterproof torch. My phone light did the job, but I easily could have dropped the thing and that would have sucked. It’s pitch black inside, so you need lighting of some description. And a backup light source too.
- Closed toe shoes. Sneakers work a treat. Hiking boots would get way to heavy when they’ve wet. The stones aren’t slippery thanks to the limestone!
- A change of clothes. Obviously you’ll be wet at the end. If it’s super warm and sunny, you could just dry off. But bring a towel and a change of clothes, there’s changing rooms/toilets next to the car park.
DETAILS ABOUT THE CAVE STREAM ADVENTURE
Rating?1
Considering how popular Castle Hill is, Cave Stream Scenic Reserve doesn’t get nearly as much love. I guess at a safety level, that makes sense, not everyone is keen on entering caves. as long. If you love an adventure and have precautions in place, this cave experience is mint. The experience doesn’t take too long which is another perk. If you’re heading to Castle Hill on a day trip, or are driving between Castle Hill and Arthur’s Pass, definitely stop by (if it’s safe).
CAVE STREAM MAP
You can find the Cave Stream Scenic Reserve on Google Maps here . It’s the same as the map above without my silly drawings!
The map above explained: This is the route you’ll take if your sole purpose is to walk through the cave. Points A and B are the car park. From there, walk on the track to the right which leads to the cave entrance.
After entering the cave, you’re going underground through the scenic reserve, and you’ll pop out at the western edge of the park. From there it’s an easy walk back following the trail.
HOW TO GET TO CAVE STREAM SCENIC RESERVE
There’s no public transport out this way.
DRIVING
This is your best option, so hopefully, you’ve got access to some wheels (if you have bought a campervan). Cave Stream Scenic Reserve is on State Highway 73, with the two major tourist destinations either side being Christchurch and Arthur’s Pass. The car park is right next to the highway and is well signposted.
From Christchurch city centre it’ll take 80-90 minutes to drive the 100km.
From Arthur’s Pass to Cave Stream it’ll take ~40 minutes to drive the 48km.
HITCHHIKING
Hitchhiking between Christchurch and Arthur’s Pass is commonplace.
From Arthur’s Pass, you can stick your thumb out anywhere on the edge of town.
From Christchurch, catch a bus to the outskirts of the city. This Hitchwiki post has the details (you can read my thoughts on hitchhiking in NZ).
MY CAVE STREAM SCENIC RESERVE EXPERIENCE
This is looking out towards the opening of the cave. It gets narrow quickly!
This is definitely a do as I say, not as I do experience. I should have been better prepared.
On the day of the experience, Garrett, Nina, and I had set off from Christchurch to hike Foggy Peak, explore the Castle Hill rocks, and if we had time we’d check out the Cave Stream. It turns out we had enough time, arriving at Cave Stream right around 5 pm (it was summer, so there’s plenty of daylight left).
There weren’t too many others which was great. I feel like the middle of the day I’d get annoyed if there are lots of people…trying to pass them inside the cave would be awkward.
Now, we were underprepared and weren’t really sure what to expect. The walk to the cave entrance is beautiful in its own right, and it was along here that Garrett decided he wasn’t going to risk damaging his high-end camera gear, fair enough. So it was down to me and Nina, and we ended up going against the recommendation of the local family at the entrance. They’d decided not to go through the cave, and said we shouldn’t as didn’t have any head torches. That was very reasonable.
The views on the way to the cave aren’t so shabby!
Whether it was right or wrong, we decided to go for it after checking the height of the water at the first corner. This is the deepest part of the cave (you can still see the entrance when you reach it). I’m about 5 foot 10 or 175 cm tall, and it was up around my chest. Knowing this was the deepest spot, I was confident to carry on with Nina. Had I been alone, I don’t think I would have gone ahead with it at that time of the day.
That was also due to me only wearing sandals, preferably, you’ll have closed-toe shoes.
After navigating the first corner I led the way with my phone torch, and Nina followed with a couple of solar lights (not head torches) that were essentially our backup lights.
I am impressed this cave is open for anyone…it was so much rawer than I expected!
My light wasn’t enough to get a real feel for what we’re walking through, but we both decided it felt like walking through the famous slots of America’s Antelope Canyon. The images on this post show you what the inside looks like.
After navigating the first corner the cave becomes a narrow passage, possibly three people wide? It’s hard to know, but it’s certainly not deep with the water level hovering around the knees.
There are a few little waterfalls you need to haul yourself up, maybe one metre high. The water was flowing pretty quickly, but there are enough footholds and places to grab that you’ll get up without any issues (one was tricky in sandals). We kept a steady pace as there wasn’t much chat between us with the flowing water drowning us out unless we were facing each other.
After 35 minutes, we saw the light at the end of the cave. Awesome. That’s about the right amount of time for a good adventure without feeling like you’re lost as.
The biggest waterfall of the day was our last hurdle, it’s maybe three metres high. Luckily, there’s a metal ladder to climb next to it. I was worried about this beforehand as my upper body strength isn’t something to write home about. But I made it easy enough, before squeezing under the overhang and back out into the evening sun 40 minutes after we entered the darkness.
So cool!
The Cave Stream is an awesome caving experience and is totally different from the Waitomo Caves. If you’re driving past, and the conditions are appropriate, do it.
And tell me about your experience in the comments below!
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Hey, it’s Jub here. I’m the guy behind Chur New Zealand, helping you have the best time hiking, trekking, walking…whatever you want to call it…in NZ. I’m based in Queenstown and am always out and about exploring trails, old & new. If you have any questions, reach out.