Caving

Find Activities

Activity category: Activities:

Region:

Town/City:

Keywords: (optional)

Find a Tour

Travel Journal

DOWN UNDER IN DOWN UNDER

Join adventurer Nathan Fa'avae on a 7 hour epic caving adventure in the fascinating underworld of New Zealand's Waitomo underworld.

Spelunkers (cavers) say that New Zealand has some of the most challenging and spectacular caving systems in the world. But you don’t have to be a seasoned spelunker to enjoy our underground scenery. Depending on your level of daring, a caving experience could be anything from a dreamy drift through a glow-worm grotto to a rip-roaring, rope-dangling, action-packed subterranean adventure.

In the North Island the best known caving area is Waitomo in the Waikato region. There are caves that you can simply walk through; there are caves you can float through (this is called black water rafting); and there are caves that require abseiling, climbing and squeezing. Experienced operators here know how to turn you into a caver in a single day.

SAFETY TIPS FOR CAVING

Safety Tips that will help you make the most of your time caving in New Zealand's great outdoors.

The South Island has several caving areas - you’ll find guided underground adventures in Nelson, Fiordland and on the West Coast. Harwood’s Hole, just off the main Motueka-Takaka road in the Nelson region, is the deepest sinkhole in the southern hemisphere. You can look into it, but be careful you don’t fall in - it’s 180 metres straight down.