Gardner's Gut is an extensive cave system in the Waitomo area of New Zealand. [1] It is located in the Ruakuri Caves & Bush Scenic Reserve, an area that also contains a number of other natural features of note. The reserve is administered by New Zealand's Department of Conservation (DOC). [2] With a length of over 12 km of explored passages, it is New Zealand's 6th largest known cave system, and the largest in the North Island. [3]
The caves making up the Gardner's Gut system are almost all composed of former or still active 'stream caves' (i.e. tunnels washed out of the limestone by water action). It is a very well known cave in New Zealand, and probably one of the most visited 'amateur' caves in the country (as opposed to tourist caves providing guided tours, like nearby Waitomo Cave).[ citation needed ] Various caving clubs from throughout the North Island use it for beginner trips, as it provides a variety of true caving experiences (such as squeeze points, narrow and winding streamways, large underground halls, fascinating formations and bush tramping to get to and from the entrances), yet is easy enough to pass through for any reasonably fit and non-claustrophobic person. The normal beginners area of the cave is around the Zweihoehlen-entrance ('Two Caves' in German) near the river.
Associated with the large number of amateur trips (whether accompanied by professional cavers or not) is a certain level of degradation in the cave. As cave systems are very fragile environments, many parts of Gardner's Gut cave have been damaged by the relatively frequent visits of inexperienced cavers (with, for example, formations broken off, and limestone formations dirtied, which prevents their continuing growth). However, this damage is almost invisible to a casual amateur.
One of the most impressive features of the cave is the 'Birthday Candle', the tallest stalagmite in the country, being around 6–7 meters high and having a diameter of around 2 meters. [4]
Te Kuiti is a town in the north of the King Country region of the North Island of New Zealand. It lies at the junction of State Highways 3 and 30 and on the North Island Main Trunk railway, 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of Hamilton. At the 2001 census it had a resident population of 4,374, a decrease of 5.1% since 1991. The town promotes itself as the sheep shearing capital of the world and is host to the annual New Zealand National Shearing Championships.
Waitomo is a rural community in the King Country region of New Zealand's North Island. It includes Waitomo Caves, a solutional cave system and popular tourist attraction. The village serves visiting tourists.
Waitomo District is a territorial authority, located in the Waikato region, at the north of the King Country area in the North Island of New Zealand. A small part of the district, the town of Tiroa, however, lies in the Manawatū-Whanganui region.
Waihi Beach is a coastal town at the western end of the Bay of Plenty in New Zealand's North Island. It lies 10 kilometres to the east of the town of Waihi, at the foot of the Coromandel Peninsula. The main beach itself extends approximately 10 kilometres. The town had a permanent population of as of June 2019.
The King Country is a region of the western North Island of New Zealand. It extends approximately from the Kawhia Harbour and the town of Otorohanga in the north to the upper reaches of the Whanganui River in the south, and from the Hauhungaroa and Rangitoto Ranges in the east to near the Tasman Sea in the west. It comprises hill country, large parts of which are forested.
The Waitomo Glowworm Caves attraction is a cave at Waitomo on the North Island of New Zealand. It is known for its population of Arachnocampa luminosa, a glowworm species found exclusively in New Zealand. This cave is part of the waitomo streamway system that includes the Ruakuri Cave, Lucky Strike, and Tumutumu Cave.
Caving in New Zealand is an established hobby as well as being a part of commercial tourism.
The Mangapu River is a river of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It has its sources in numerous streams which flow generally northwards from the King Country south of Te Kuiti, the longest of which is the Mangaokewa Stream. These streams join to form the Mangapu close to Te Kuiti, and from here the river flows north, passing close to the east of Waitomo Caves, where the Mangapu caves have the largest entrance in the North Island, before flowing into the Waipa River at Otorohanga.
The Waikato and King Country regions of New Zealand are built upon a basement of greywacke rocks, which form many of the hills. Much of the land to the west of the Waikato River and in the King Country to the south has been covered by limestone and sandstone, forming bluffs and a karst landscape. The volcanic cones of Karioi and Pirongia dominate the landscape near Raglan and Kawhia Harbours. To the east, the land has been covered with ignimbrite deposits from the Taupo Volcanic Zone. Large amounts of pumice from the Taupo Volcanic Zone have been deposited in the Waikato Basin and Hauraki Plains.
Deinacrida mahoenui, the Mahoenui giant wētā, is a flightless insect in the giant wētā family Anostostomatidae. It is endemic to the area of Mahoenui, New Zealand, and the world population for some time was restricted to a single patch of introduced gorse on farmland.
Pirongia Forest Park is a protected area 30 km southwest of Hamilton, New Zealand. It covers 167.7 square kilometres (64.7 sq mi) across four blocks of land - Pirongia, Te Maunga O Karioi Block, and the small Mangakino Block and Te Rauamoa Block. The park encompasses Mount Pirongia west of Pirongia and Mount Karioi near the coast southwest of Raglan.
Wairēinga / Bridal Veil Falls Scenic Reserve is also in the area, but is separate to Pirongia Forest Park.
The Mangapohue Natural Bridge consists of two rock arches formed by the Mangapohue Stream in the Marokopa River valley near Waitomo, New Zealand.
The Metro / Te Ananui Caves are a maze of limestone caves formed by the underground capture of Ananui Creek, a tributary of the Waitakere or Nile River. The caves are located in the Paparoa National Park in New Zealand, managed by the Department of Conservation. Parts of the cave system are accessible by cave tours and rafting, operated by a commercial tour operator out of Charleston.
Maniaiti / Benneydale is a small town in the Waitomo District. It is situated on State Highway 30 approximately 35 km southeast of Te Kuiti.
The Waitomo frog is an extinct species of the genus Leiopelma from New Zealand.
Potamopyrgus doci is a critically endangered species of fresh water snail native to New Zealand.
Rawhiti Cave, also known as Manson Cave, is a single large limestone cave in the hillside of the Dry Creek Valley 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) southeast of Takaka on the South Island of New Zealand. It is referred to as Manson Cave in the NZ Topo Map, after owners in the early 20th century, however the cave is known as Rawhiti Cave locally, and on DoC information panels and in brochures.
Ruakuri Cave is one of the longer caves in the Waitomo area of New Zealand. It was first discovered by local Maori between 400 and 500 years ago. The name Te Ruakuri, or "The Den of Dogs" was given to the surrounding area when wild dogs were discovered living in the entrance of the cave.
Coordinates: 38°15′52″S175°04′30″E / 38.264383°S 175.075099°E