Kahurangi National Park
The complex landforms of Kahurangi National Park attract fossil hunters, cavers and anyone with a fascination for geology.
On the surface, fluted rock, arches, sinkholes, shafts and disappearing/reappearing streams give the landscape exceptional character. Mount Owen and Mount Arthur are the park’s ‘marble mountains’. Within the mountains, water has dissolved the marble to create extensive cave systems.
There are 18 species of native birds living in Kahurangi Ntiona Park. While walking, visitors will be serenaded by bellbirds, tui and sociable South Island Robins. Several species of native land snail may also be encountered. These giant snails are carnivorous, feeding at night on worms that grow up to a metre long. If you go caving, keep an eye out for the Kahurangi Cave Spider, one of the world’s rarest, which has a leg span of up to 12 centimetres.
