Short walk from the southern end of Muriwai Beach, around the first headland to the grotto, hollowed out over thousands of years by the power of the Tasman Sea. The entrance is a large jagged opening of dark volcanic “megapillow” lava. The inside the grotto was colder and damp, with a lava pillow ceiling 10-feet above.
The lower part of the wall is a beautiful purple color, the result of salt spray and oxygen hitting against the iron-rich volcanic walls, causing them to “rust,” turning the surface into a beautiful plum-like, purple.