Beach
Waterfall
Huge sea cave & beach waterfall on hidden beach - NOT on Google Maps.
These are our fav hidden gems, ones that take lots of research, or chatting to a local.. or just coming across it by accident!
Nicknamed Butter Cave by locals, its located in Mōkau on the King Country Coast and accessed by foot during low tide or SUP/Kayak otherwise (always be water smart & know your limits)
Fun Fact: The Butter Cave gets its name from when the dairy factory was first built the butter was stored in the cave until chiller storage was built.
Historic Significance: 'This amazing sea cave at Mōkau actually is a significant part of our history. It is one of the places where the crew of the Tainui canoe found shelter for themselves and their craft. People from the Tainui canoe disembarked at Mōkau, and further north at Whāingaroa (Raglan) and Kāwhia Harbour. Like many of the first canoes, the Tainui spent time exploring the coastline before people chose settlement locations.' - https://digitalnz.org/records/31925770
Directions: To get there, head down Tokopapa Street and park up down the dead end street. Head down the stairs down to the beach and the cave is right infront of you. The waterfall is just around to the left and as always - is more impressive after rain.
Tip: According to the map in the last photo for the Mōkau Historical walk, there is a bamboo forest! It's inbetween Takarei Terrace and Tokopapa Street, unfortunately we found out about this after our Taranaki visit so we don't have any photos or more details, but if you pop by the museum - they can explain the full walk to you and directions. Otherwise, we will update our maps on our next Taranaki visit :)
Handy links/References:
https://mokau.nz/directory/mokau-historical-township-walk/
https://mokau.nz/
https://share.google/uyQubWKyxEwifGoec
