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Travel Destination Guide - Waitomo Caves
Waitomo Caves (North Island, New Zealand) 
Waitomo Caves Information
Slideshow of Photos
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The caves at Waitomo are one of New Zealand's most commanding wonders - a celebration of nature's work over the last one hundred thousand years. In 1880, the discoverers of this 'domain of beauty in forbidding darkness' found hundreds of miles of labyrinthine caves, glow-worms, stalactites and stalagmites, and all manner of limestone crustations - a lost world.
South of Waitomo, Te Kuiti has canoeing, horse-trekking, jet boating and fishing. The Maori leader Te Kooti sought refuge in Te Kuiti and in gratitude erected a magnificent carved meeting house, 'Tokanganui-a-Noho', at the southern entrance to the town.
The region of Waikato is an area of rolling hills worked for dairy and sheep farming, racehorse breeding, and large areas of native bush and distant mountains. In addition to being a small friendly place, it offers an enormous range of attractions, adventures and everlasting memories of a silent world.
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Since 1887 when the Waitomo Glowworm Caves were first explored, people have been attracted to this fascinating network of limestone caves and grottos. The guided tour will take you through stunning underground scenery including the 'Cathedral' with its perfect acoustics.
In Aranui Cave the high chambers, magnificent limestone formations and pale brown, pink and white shades of the huge stalactites are truly spectacular. The experience ends with a boat trip into the 'starry' world of glowworms, where you can marvel at Mother Nature's light display as you glide silently through the glowworm grotto.
The more adventurous may abseil 300 feet (90 meters) into the Lost World or try blackwater tubing through underground streams. Nearby the award-winning Museum of Caves offers information on the facinating geology of this region.
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Population: 4.035.500
Languages: English, Maori (both official)
Currency: New Zealand dollar
Currency code: NZD
Local Times:
New Zealand - Auckland
New Zealand - Chatham Island
New Zealand - Wellington
Country Dialling Code: +64
Voltage: 240V 50Hz
Electrical plugs:
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It's been Middle Earth and Narnia in the movies but New Zealand's beautiful landscapes are no fantasy.
With a varied and dramatic landscape, a long and significant cultural heritage, and some of the world's rarest and most fascinating plant and animal species, New Zealand is an ideal adventure travel destination. Take a trip here and discover why New Zealand has it all - from flightless birds to breaching whales and breathtaking fjords to erupting geysers.
New Zealand comes with a reputation as a unique land packed with magnificent, raw scenery : craggy coastlines, sweeping beaches, primeval forests, snow-capped alpine mountains, bubbling volcanic pools, fast-flowing rivers and glacier-fed lakes, all beneath a brilliant blue sky. The far north is a subtropical haven of unspoilt beaches, citrus fruits and hibiscus flowers, while volcanic mud pools and geysers feature in the central part of North Island. The South Island boasts whale watching, ice glaciers and rugged snow-covered Alps. And yes, there are many wide-open spaces.
What's more, everything is easily accessible, packed into a land area little larger than Britain and with a population of just 3.8 million, over half of it tucked away in the three largest cities : Auckland, the capital Wellington, and the South Island's Christchurch. Elsewhere, you can travel miles through steep-hilled farmland and rarely see a soul, and there are even remote spots which, it's reliably contended, no human has ever visited.
Geologically, New Zealand split off from the super-continent of Gondwanaland early, developing a unique ecosystem in which birds adapted to fill the role normally held by mammals, many becoming flightless through lack of predators.
Only in the last couple of decades has New Zealand come of age and developed a true national self-confidence, something partly forced on it by Britain severing the colonial apron strings in the early 1970s, and partly by the resurgence of Maori identity. Maori demands have been nurtured by a willingness on the part of most pakeha to redress the wrongs perpetrated over the last century and a half, as long as it doesn't impinge on their high standard of living or overall feeling of control. More recently, integration has been replaced with a policy of promoting two cultures alongside each other, but with maximum interaction. In this way New Zealand is set to forge through the new century with considerable dignity and a good deal of uncertainty.
The British represent the second largest group of visitors to New Zealand - after neighbouring Australia. But at 12,000 miles away from the UK it's a once-in-a-lifetime destination for many and takes a bit of planning.
Most British travellers either tack New Zealand on to the end of an Australian holiday and regret not having enough time, or take two or three weeks and race around like mad to see the whole country. While New Zealand is small enough to 'do' in that time, a more enjoyable option is to spend longer at just a few places - and then you have an excuse to go back! |
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Waitomo Caves Travel Awards
Local Area Weather
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