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). 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]
Paparoa National Park is on the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand. The park was established in 1987 and encompasses 430 km2 (170 sq mi). The park ranges from or near the coastline to the peaks of the Paparoa Range. A separate section of the park lies to the north and is centred at Ananui Creek. The park protects a limestone karst area. The park contains several caves, of which Metro Cave / Te Ananui Cave is a commercial tourist attraction. The majority of the park is forested with a wide variety of vegetation. The park was the site of the 1995 Cave Creek disaster where fourteen people died as a result of the collapse of a scenic viewing platform.
Waitomo is a rural community in the King Country region of New Zealand's North Island. There are several solutional cave systems in the area around the village, which are popular tourist attractions. Restaurants and accommodation are centred in the village to serve 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 locality of Tiroa, however, lies in the Manawatū-Whanganui region.
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 Kūiti, 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 Waipā River at Ōtorohanga.
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 Taupō Volcanic Zone. Large amounts of pumice from the Taupō Volcanic Zone have been deposited in the Waikato Basin and Hauraki Plains.
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 located nearby, but is separate to Pirongia Forest Park.
The Ōpārara Basin is a basin drained by the Ōpārara River at 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Karamea, at the West Coast Region of the South Island of New Zealand. With its large natural rock arches, a network of caves rich in fossils, and a beautiful, unspoiled natural environment typical of temperate rainforests, it is one of the most striking places of the Kahurangi National 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 / 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.
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 Tākaka 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 Māori 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.
Waitomo District Council is the territorial authority for the Waitomo District of New Zealand.
Te Awaatu Channel Marine Reserve is a marine reserve covering an area of 93 hectares in Fiordland on New Zealand's South Island. It was established in 1993 and is administered by the Department of Conservation.
Scenic reserves are a type of New Zealand protected area. They are the most common, and probably most widespread, form of protected area in the country. The reserve vary size: while most are less than 100 hectares, some are more than 1,000 hectares. Some are "islands of unspoilt nature in a sea of farmland".
The Goldie Bush Scenic Reserve, also known as Goldies Bush and Te Taiapa, is a forested area of West Auckland, New Zealand. Located south-east of Muriwai, the reserve is home to the Mokoroa Falls.
Forsteropsalis photophaga, also known as the glow-worm hunter, is a species of long-legged harvestman in the family Neopilionidae. This species is endemic to New Zealand, found in North Island caves in the vicinity of Waitomo. The name "photophaga" comes from their habit of feeding on the luminescent larvae, pupae, and adults of the New Zealand glow-worm Arachnocampa luminosa.
