What is Waitomo Caves?

Information about Waitomo Caves

Enlarge picture
A cave entrance in the area.
The Waitomo Caves are a village and cave system forming a major tourist attraction in the southern Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand, 12 kilometres northwest of Te Kuiti. The small community of Waitomo Caves itself has a population of less than 40, though the village has many temporary service workers living there as well. The word Waitomo comes from the Māori language wai meaning water and tomo meaning a doline or sinkhole; it can thus be translated to be water passing through a hole.

Caving

Early history


The limestone landscape of the Waitomo District area has been the centre of increasingly popular commercial caving tourism from as early as 1900. Initially mostly consisting of impromptu trips guided by local Māori, large sections of cave near Waitomo Caves were later taken over by the Crown and managed as a (relatively genteel) tourism attraction from 1904 onwards.[1]

Modern days


Today, a number of companies, large and small, specialise in leading tourists through the caves of the area, from easily accessible areas with hundreds of tourists per hour in the peak season, to extreme sports-like crawls into cave systems which are only seen by a few tourists each day. A visit to Waitomo Caves made Number 14 amongst a list of 101 "Kiwi must-do's" in an Automobile Association poll of over 20,000 motorists published 2007,[2] and in 2004, around 400,000 visitors entered caves in the area.[1]

Main caves


The main caves in the area are Waitomo Cave, Ruakuri Cave, Aranui Cave and Gardner's Gut. They are noted for their stalactite and stalagmite displays, and for the presence of glowworms (the fungus gnat Arachnocampa luminosa).[3]

See also

References

1. ^ Caving tourism (from Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand)
2. ^ Peaks, sounds, parks and islands tops in Kiwi eyes - New Zealand Herald, Saturday 10 February 2007
3. ^ Glowworm Caves, Waitomo (from the tourism operator website 'waitomocaves.co.nz')

External links

Waikato is the name of a region in the North Island of New Zealand. Exact boundaries of the region depend largely on the use of the name, but in all cases it refers to an area around the city of Hamilton and extending along the banks of the Waikato River.
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North Island<nowiki />

Geography
<nowiki/>
Location New Zealand <nowiki /> <nowiki /> <nowiki /> <nowiki />
Area 113,729 km²<nowiki />
Highest point
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Anthem
"God Defend New Zealand"
"God Save the Queen" 1


Capital Wellington

Largest city Auckland
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Te Kuiti Coordinates: is a small town in the south of the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand.
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This article has no lead section.
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Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the mineral calcite (calcium carbonate: CaCO3). Limestone often contains variable amounts of silica in the form of chert or flint, as well as varying amounts of clay, silt and sand as disseminations, nodules, or layers
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Waitomo is a district-type municipality in the southwest of the Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand.

The district is a rural, predominantly dairy farming, region. The seat of the Waitomo District Council is at Te Kuiti, which has a population of 4419.
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Caving is the recreational sport of exploring caves. Speleology is the scientific study of caves and the cave environment.[1]

The challenges of the sport depend on the cave being visited, but often include the negotiation of pitches, squeezes, and water
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The Crown is an abstract metonymic concept which represents the legal authority for the existence of any government. It evolved naturally as a separation of the literal crown and property of the nation-state from the person and personal property of the monarch.
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cave is a natural underground void large enough for a human to enter. Some people suggest that the term 'cave' should only apply to cavities that have some part which does not receive daylight; however, in popular usage, the term includes smaller spaces like sea caves, rock
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Extreme sport (also called action sport and adventure sport) is a media term for certain activities perceived as having a high level of inherent danger or difficulty and often involving speed, height, a high level of physical exertion, and highly specialized gear or
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Automobile Association may refer to:
  • Australian Automobile Association in Australia.
  • Canadian Automobile Association in Canada.
  • Dominion Automobile Association in Canada.
  • Western India Automobile Association (WIAA) in India.

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The Waitomo Glowworm Cave is a cave on the North Island of New Zealand, known for its population of glowworms, Arachnocampa luminosa. These glowworms are found exclusively in New Zealand and around the size of an average mosquito.
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Gardner's Gut is an extensive cave system (two main levels and at least 4½ miles of passages)[1] in the Waitomo area of New Zealand. It is located in the Ruakuri Caves & Bush Scenic Reserve, an area that also contains a number of other natural features of note.
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stalactite (Greek stalaktites, (Σταλακτίτης), from the word for "drip" and meaning "that which drips") is a type of speleothem (secondary mineral) that hangs from the ceiling or wall of limestone caves.
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stalagmite (from the Greek stalagma ("Σταλαγμίτης"), "drop" or "drip") is a type of speleothem that rises from the floor of a limestone cave due to the dripping of mineralized solutions and the deposition of calcium
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Arachnocampa

Species
Various - see text


Arachnocampa is a genus of four fungus gnat species which are, in their larval stage, glowworms.

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Caving in New Zealand is an established hobby practised by several hundred members of caving associations all over New Zealand, who take advantage of the widespread limestone karst cave systems present in the country, especially in the Waitomo District of the North Island and in
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Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand, is an online encyclopedia created by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage of the New Zealand Government. The project was established in 2002 and the website launched in 2005.
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The New Zealand Herald

Type Daily newspaper
Format Broadsheet

Owner APN News & Media
Editor Tim Murphy
Founded 1863
Headquarters Auckland, New Zealand

Website: nzherald.co.nz
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