Tatare Tunnels Walk — Attraction in South Island

Callery Gorge and Tatare Tunnels - Easy to do both in 3-3.5 hours with plenty of time to play on the suspension bridge and in the tunnel, respectively.

Tatare Tunnels shares a trailhead with the Callery Gorge Walk. You walk for about 500 meters up the service road, until you come to a fork. Go left for Tatare Tunnels, and right for Callery Gorge.

I set out around 8 am and first went to Callery Gorge (about 35-40 mins.) then turned around and went back to the fork, then up to the Tatare Tunnels. I returned to my car around 11:15 am, with lots of time spent on the Callery Gorge suspension bridge and in the tunnels.

The majority of this trail appears as a service road- fairly flat and a gradual incline, until you get very near the tunnel. The tunnel itself is pretty neat. I saw no one else until i was exiting the tunnels, so a bit eerie to experience the dark tunnels alone. Walk as far as your frozen toes will take you through the cold water. Eventually you see the 'light at the end of the tunnel', where it comes through to the other side, and the DOC has blocked off further travel. I brought sandals, a headlamp, and a flashlight and all were needed- it's dark in there and there is ankle-deep...

really cool that they keep the tunnel open for people to walk through. the fact it's through solid rock and doesn't need bracing probably helps.

many people walk through the tunnel barefoot to avoid soaking their shoes -- the water will be cold, but should be safe, and you'll get used to it. the glow worms are mostly on the far side of the tunnel rather than near the entrance, so you have to commit in order to see any.

note that the tunnel isn't super tall, but someone like 6' can comfortably walk without having to hunch over. just wear a light hat if you're worried about...

Overall this was alright but I was expecting more time in the tunnel. I wore sandals thinking we’d primarily be in the tunnel/in water but it was more like 95% hike and 5% tunnel. The hike was steep so I’d recommend hiking shoes and switching into flip flops or wearing Tevas. Water was a little above the ankle and very cold! Refreshing after a hike though! We saw a handful of glowworms and it was neat to see them closeup, but overall there weren’t very many! Bring a headlamp or use your phone light in a pinch- the ground in the tunnel was pretty easy to...