Sea cave
Blister cave
| Location: | Poor Knights Islands, 12 nautical miles (23km) from the North East coast at Tutukaka. (35°28'S, 174°44'E) |
| Open: | daily trips by boat |
| Fee: | |
| Classification: |
Sea cave
Blister cave
|
| Light: | bring torch |
| Dimension: | V=221,494m3. L=130m, W=80m, VR=61m, 26m below, 35m above sea. |
| Guided tours: | |
| Bibliography: | |
| Address: |
Dive Tutukaka, Kate Malcolm, Tel: +64-9-434-3867.
E-mail: |
| Last update: | $Date: 2008/07/01 20:28:43 $ |
Located on the west coast of Aorangi Island, one of the Poor Knights Islands, lies a huge sea cave. It is listed at the moment as the largest sea cave by volume. On the other hand it is not the longest sea cave.
Rikoriko Cave is originally a blister cave, formed during an eruption 10,000 years ago, when the volcanic island was formed. The blister, deep inside the magmatic rock, was finally reached by erosion and thus became accessible. The sea started to work on the cave and is continually enlarging it now.
The huge dome of Rikoriko is entered by boats, swimming inside a huge cathedral, 139m long, 80m wide and 35m high. It is famous for its accoustics and regularly used by musicians for a capella concerts.
The cave is toured daily by boat from Tutukaka by boat. There are various different tours, with diving, snorkeling or just sightseeing. Some of the other 25 caves around the island are visited too. Other important caves are Northern Arch, Middle Arch, Bernies Cave, El Torito Cave, The Tunnel, Shaft Cave, and Airbubble Cave. Main topic of all visits is the unique life inside the caves. The dark environment resulted in an extraordinary and unique eco system. For example there are corals in a depth of 15m which normally live 200m below the surface.
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