Ruakuri Cave is one of the longer caves in the
Waitomo
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 i ...
area of
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. It was first discovered by local
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
between 400 and 500 years ago. The name Te Ruakuri, or "The Den of Dogs" (as it is referred to by the local hapu) was given to the surrounding area when wild dogs were discovered living in the entrance of the cave.
One of the cave entrances was used by Māori as an ''urupa'' or
burial site
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
. As a sacred area it is no longer used for tourism, however it is now accessed by a spiral drum entrance built some distance away from the tapu (sacred) site where tours now run since 2005.
Ruakuri is the only
wheelchair-accessible
Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i.e ...
cave in the
Southern Hemisphere. It is well known for its spiritual links to Māori and its unusual
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
formations and caverns.
Major features of the Ruakuri Cave include Holdens Cavern (named after James Holden who first opened the cave to the public), The Drum Passage, The Pretties and The Ghost Passage.
The cave was open to the public from 1904 until 1988, when it was closed due to a legal and financial dispute. It was reopened in 2005.
Inside there is a dynamic natural environment, with
glowworm
Glowworm or glow-worm is the common name for various groups of insect larvae and adult larviform females that glow through bioluminescence. They include the European common glow-worm and other members of the Lampyridae, but bioluminescence also o ...
s, limestone formations, underground rivers, and hidden waterfalls.
Guided tours
The
guided tour through the Ruakuri Cave starts down a long spiral ramp to the bottom of the cave. This leads to a room full of
stalactites, and rare limestone formations that have been created over millions of years. Some of them are covered with a kind of coral (known locally as "popcorn"). There are also underground rivers and waterfalls. The waterfall is only around one and a half metres tall, but it sounds much louder underground.
Since 1987 there have been 3 adventure tours run through this cave, with 2 still operating most days.
Also in the cave are
fossils from the time when the area was beneath the sea. There are still living creatures in the cave such as the glowworms for which the
Waitomo Caves
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 i ...
are famous. The glowworms cover the cave's walls with pinpricks of light, giving the effect of a starry night.
The glowworms are the larvae of fungus gnats that spend most of their lives in the larval state. They feed on insects that fly into the cave; they also eat one another. The presence of life and light in a place that should be dark and dead is the reason Māori thought this place sacred .
See also
*
Waitomo Glowworm Caves
References
External links
Caves Discovery Centre
{{authority control
1904 establishments in New Zealand
Caves of New Zealand
Limestone caves
Show caves in New Zealand
Waitomo District
Places with bioluminescence
Tourist attractions in Waikato
Landforms of Waikato