Waitomo Caves

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Waitomo Caves

The Waitomo Caves is a village and solutional cave system forming a major tourist attraction in the northern King Country region of the North Island of New Zealand, 12 kilometres northwest of Te Kuiti. The community of Waitomo Caves itself is very small, 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. The caves are formed in Oligocene limestone.

The Waitomo Walkway runs through the valley of the Waitomo Stream (a tributary of the Waipa River) for 3.3 km (2.1 mi) from the village to Ruakuri Scenic Reserve. At the reserve the Ruakuri Walk leads through short caves to the Ruakuri Natural Bridge.

Te Araroa long distance walkway passes through Waitomo. The section from Mt Pirongia joins the Waitomo Walkway to enter the village.

The 17.5 km (10.9 mi) section to Te Kuiti goes over Mangapu River suspension bridge and through Pehitawa kahikatea forest.

The Waitomo Caves were seen in Episode 4 "Caves" of BBC's Planet Earth.

Getting There

This tourist attraction is well serviced by public transport including taxis, buses and shuttle.