Nelson Caves

 

Nelson Caves

Nelson's CavesNelson

Ngarua Show Cave

This is a comparatively small show cave but has some Big attractions with many stalactites and various wall formations including many ledges and wall pockets.  The large Wedding Cathedral (cavern) plus an array of ancient Moa bones, (the now extinct Moa was a flightless bird usually larger than the ostrich) including one full skeleton of a little and very rare Bush Moa. The cave has 2 entrances, a wider eastern entrance (the main entrance) and the western entrance, developed to allow one-way tours through the system.

Ngarua Cave or Hobson’s Cave as it is known locally) was found by Bushmen clearing scrub on a hillside in 1884. The site soon became popular attracting passing settlers who seemed intent on removing stalactites and carving their names on the many formations (now forbidden).

Touch Zone: As people tend to have an unreiitable urge to touch speleothems, regardless of being told otherwise there is in the Ngarua Cave a zone called the touch zone, a small limestone formations where visitors are allowed to touch and gain a better understanding of its structure.

Te Anaroa Caves

Come; venture underground to an inner space of magnificent natural beauty. This is an ancient place where large stalagmites and stalactites abound. Turn off the lights, and gaze up - a galaxy of twinkling lights waits shining like stars overhead in this subterranean sky.

The Te Anaroa caves tour is an easy and safe subterranean experience, which has delighted visitors for over a hundred years. Enjoy an informal and educational tour as you journey through spectacular ancient limestone formations.

The Te Anaroa Cave Tour 1: This one hour tour lets you to discover the ancient stalactite and stalagmite formations. You will also have a chance to explore Lot’s Wife, Academy Corner, and the Little Fairy Grotto.

The Te Anaroa Cave Tour 2: Explore everything the Te Anaroa Caves have to offer. With a 1.5-hour tour that takes you through the whole cave system, including the Organ Pipes with its ancient fossils.

The Rebecca Adventure Caving Tour: First you do the original Te Anaroa Cave Tour and then get started on your ‘Rebecca Adventure Caving’ trip. Start with a gentle abseil down about 8 metres (26 foot) to the floor of the Rebecca Cave. This is a “living” cave with water flows through and instead of finding fossils the creatures that thrive in this environment are more than alive and well. You’ll see many glow-worms. These little glow-worms are fascinating creatures that use light to attract various insects into a sticky trap (not dissimilar to a spider’s web just a lot smaller and stickier. You are more than likely to see our ancient native friend, the Cave Weta. There are more than seventy different species of Weta in this country. Cave Wetas are generally seen as ugly with the stick like ones rarely venture beyond their dark hiding places. Cave Wetas are harmless and a shy insect, they have been around eversince and coexisted with the dinosaurs. Eventually we reemerge from the cave and into a beautiful, sheltered pocket of native bush, - an awe-inspiring place.

You will need to wear sturdy footwear. Safety helmets and flash lights are supplied. The minimum age for this Cave Adventure is 12 years of age.


Pricing terms

The price is based on current exchange rates but is only an approximation. Please contact us for a final price