Clifden Caves

Clifden Caves

20 Rankers Reviews

16 Face-to-Face

9 Caving

7 Tuatapere

Maps

Photos

Details

Feature Value Info

Organisation

DOC Southland

Central government organisation

Location

South IslandSouthlandTuatapere

Categories

  • Activity__scenic_attractionsScenic Attractions
  • Activity__cavingCaving
  • Free

Directions

To Coordinates

Coordinates

-46.0113003221891

167.747290039062

Latitude
-46.0113003221891
Longitude
167.747290039062

Nearby

Reviews

    • Unexpectedly very adventurous and exciting.
    • Did the 1.5 hour walk through the Clifden Caves.
    • Good rainy day activity.
    • Super fun!
    • Long cave with a pool that you have to cross.
    Rating Count Percentage
    10/10 5
    25%
    9/10 7
    35%
    8/10 6
    30%
    7/10 0
    0%
    6/10 1
    5%
    5/10 0
    0%
    4/10 1
    5%
    3/10 0
    0%
    2/10 0
    0%
    1/10 0
    0%
  • 4.0/5

    An underground cave system that can be followed from one end to the other.

    Free, just take some torches, decent boots and a bit of bravery. It takes over an hour to complete so recommend not going alone and letting others know your plans before you go to the cave site as there is little or no phone reception in the surrounding area.

    Reviewed over 7 years ago and experienced in January 2017

  • 4.5/5

    Good rainy day activity.

    The walk isn't too hard if you're the adventurous type but DO bring a head torch and DON'T rely on your cell phone light. Many places require two hands to stabilize and after an hour long walk, your battery will likely die. Be smart and have fun! Lovely glow worm cave at the very end :)

    Reviewed over 7 years ago

  • 4.0/5

    Did the 1.5 hour walk through the Clifden Caves.

    Bring a torch as it is pitch dark, but lit up it is beautiful. Quite adventurous. Saw glowworms!

    Reviewed over 7 years ago and experienced in November 2016

  • 4.5/5

    Unexpectedly very adventurous and exciting.

    You enter the cave on your own (bring torches!) and crawl through narrow passages and jump over pools of water. When you turn off your torch, the glowworms are amazing!

    Reviewed over 7 years ago and experienced in November 2016

  • 4.5/5

    Great cave, about 45 minutes, for free, you need a flashlight.

    Reviewed over 7 years ago and experienced in October 2016

  • 4.5/5

    We liked it alot, flashlight and decent clothes/shoes are required.

    Takes about an hour.

    Reviewed over 7 years ago and experienced in October 2016

  • 4.0/5

    Very adventurous track.

    Headlamp and good boots are recommended. Do not go in there if you have problems with narrow spaces. Otherwise try it! It is a little challenging but worth it! Includes glowworms if you dare to turn the headlamp off every now and then.

    Reviewed over 7 years ago and experienced in October 2016

  • 5.0/5

    Super fun!

    Very understated signs, we weren't even sure we were in the right place until, well, we were there. We were the only people there. Some crossings were difficult, especially the large pool of water midway through! You don't really need a helmet, but do watch your heads. Definitely bring extra light sources though! A few glow-worms, which were lovely. The most we saw were in the last cavern at the very end.

    Reviewed almost 8 years ago and experienced in November 2016

  • 4.5/5

    A free cave of 300m with a lot of glowworms.

    It was magic!

    Reviewed almost 8 years ago and experienced in March 2016

  • 4.0/5

    A free cave with a lot of glowworms.

    It was more of a one hour walk in the cave.

    Reviewed almost 8 years ago and experienced in March 2016

  • 4.0/5

    Clifden Caves are stunning.

    Reviewed almost 8 years ago and experienced in April 2016

  • 2.0/5

    Very small and wet cave but we visited it at the end of winter so maybe that is why.

    The signpost in front of the cave is named Livestone caves.

    Reviewed about 9 years ago

  • 4.0/5

    An underground cave system that can be followed from one end to the other.

    Free, just take some torches, decent boots and a bit of bravery. It takes over an hour to complete so recommend not going alone and letting others know your plans before you go to the cave site as there is little or no phone reception in the surrounding area.

    Reviewed over 7 years ago and experienced in January 2017

  • 4.5/5

    We liked it alot, flashlight and decent clothes/shoes are required.

    Takes about an hour.

    Reviewed over 7 years ago and experienced in October 2016

  • 4.0/5

    Very adventurous track.

    Headlamp and good boots are recommended. Do not go in there if you have problems with narrow spaces. Otherwise try it! It is a little challenging but worth it! Includes glowworms if you dare to turn the headlamp off every now and then.

    Reviewed over 7 years ago and experienced in October 2016

  • 4.5/5

    Great cave, about 45 minutes, for free, you need a flashlight.

    Reviewed over 7 years ago and experienced in October 2016

  • 4.0/5

    Did the 1.5 hour walk through the Clifden Caves.

    Bring a torch as it is pitch dark, but lit up it is beautiful. Quite adventurous. Saw glowworms!

    Reviewed over 7 years ago and experienced in November 2016

  • 4.5/5

    Unexpectedly very adventurous and exciting.

    You enter the cave on your own (bring torches!) and crawl through narrow passages and jump over pools of water. When you turn off your torch, the glowworms are amazing!

    Reviewed over 7 years ago and experienced in November 2016

  • 4.5/5

    Good rainy day activity.

    The walk isn't too hard if you're the adventurous type but DO bring a head torch and DON'T rely on your cell phone light. Many places require two hands to stabilize and after an hour long walk, your battery will likely die. Be smart and have fun! Lovely glow worm cave at the very end :)

    Reviewed over 7 years ago

  • 4.5/5

    A free cave of 300m with a lot of glowworms.

    It was magic!

    Reviewed almost 8 years ago and experienced in March 2016

  • 4.0/5

    A free cave with a lot of glowworms.

    It was more of a one hour walk in the cave.

    Reviewed almost 8 years ago and experienced in March 2016

  • 4.0/5

    Clifden Caves are stunning.

    Reviewed almost 8 years ago and experienced in April 2016

  • 5.0/5

    Super fun!

    Very understated signs, we weren't even sure we were in the right place until, well, we were there. We were the only people there. Some crossings were difficult, especially the large pool of water midway through! You don't really need a helmet, but do watch your heads. Definitely bring extra light sources though! A few glow-worms, which were lovely. The most we saw were in the last cavern at the very end.

    Reviewed almost 8 years ago and experienced in November 2016

  • 5.0/5

    Long cave with a pool that you have to cross.

    You need a flashlight and a helmet would be good.

    Reviewed over 8 years ago and experienced in January 2016

  • 4.5/5

    A totally new experience, unguided cave exploration.

    Beautiful limestone and glowworms.

    Reviewed over 8 years ago and experienced in January 2016

  • 4.5/5

    Really exiting!

    You should be fit and not claustrophobic. Longer then we thought, maybe 45-60 minutes for whole cave.

    Reviewed over 8 years ago

  • 5.0/5

    This 'walk' takes about 45 minutes and is perfect for everyone with a headlamp who loves a little adventure including climbing and wading through water.

    Reviewed over 8 years ago

  • 5.0/5

    60 minute climb through a narrow limestone cave (don't forget your light!).

    Nice experience, different from the usual New Zealand walk.

    Reviewed over 8 years ago

  • 5.0/5

    Really beautiful caves, you can go on your own and it is free.

    Many glowworms. Really beautiful. Maybe 300m of caves, takes two hours to go through.

    Reviewed almost 9 years ago

  • 4.0/5

    Really fun but 'safe', not touristy.

    Reviewed almost 9 years ago and experienced in February 2015

  • 2.0/5

    Very small and wet cave but we visited it at the end of winter so maybe that is why.

    The signpost in front of the cave is named Livestone caves.

    Reviewed about 9 years ago

  • 3.0/5

    Small cave, not as exciting than the Abbey Caves, but still good.

    At 3/4 of the way there was a swimming pool (very, very cold), which was hard to cross!

    Reviewed over 11 years ago and experienced in February 2013