Maitai Cave Track

Cross the footbridge and follow the Coppermine Trail. For the first 2 km, the track passes through kānuka on the true left of the Maitai River South Branch before entering original native forest. The turnoff to Maitai Cave is 3.6 km from the car park, just before the bridge over the Maitai River South Branch. After leaving the Coppermine Trail, the Maitai Cave Track crosses Sclanders Creek (unbridged, but usually you can rock-hop across and keep your feet dry). The track is rougher than the well-maintained Coppermine Trail, with roots, logs, and occasional muddy patches to navigate. It follows a natural embankment between Sclanders Creek and the Maitai River South Branch, skirting the western edge of the mineral belt before entering beautiful beech–podocarp forest featuring rimu, kahikatea, and mataī, with Sclanders Creek flowing on your right. The gradient steepens slightly in the final few hundred metres leading to the cave. The cave entrance is a narrow opening on the hillside, guarded by limestone outcrops. If you want to explore the cave, make sure you have a headlight torch and some clothes that you don’t mind getting muddy. Allow 20 minutes for exploration. Remember that the inside of the cave is a delicate environment that has taken thousands of years to form.