The following is a list of some of the more well known cave

Cave

A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...

s and caverns in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

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Not all caves have an official name as set by the New Zealand Geographic Board. The national caving

Caving

Caving—also occasionally known as spelunking in the United States and potholing in the United Kingdom—is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems...

 association maintains maps of all known surveyed caves and the name is generally allocated by the group who first discovered the cave.

North Island caves

• Karamu Cave
• Kawiti Caves
• Mangaone Cave
• Nikau Caves
• Waipu Caves
• Many lava tube
  Lava tube
  Lava tubes are natural conduits through which lava travels beneath the surface of a lava flow, expelled by a volcano during an eruption. They can be actively draining lava from a source, or can be extinct, meaning the lava flow has ceased and the rock has cooled and left a long, cave-like...
  
  s and lava caves in the Auckland Volcanic Field
  Auckland Volcanic Field
  The Auckland volcanic field is a monogenetic volcanic field in the North Island of New Zealand. Basaltic in nature, it underlies much of the metropolitan area of Auckland....
  
  , including:
  • Ambury Park Lava Caves
  • Cave of One Thousand Press-Ups
  • Kitenui Cave
  • Rangitoto Lava Caves
  • Stewart's Lava Cave
  • Wiri Lava Cave
    Wiri Lava Cave
    Wiri lava cave is one of Auckland's longest lava caves at around 290 metres. It is part of Matukutūruru volcano, in the Auckland volcanic field. Features such as lava stalactites mean it is considered of international importance...
    
    
• Waitomo
  Waitomo Caves
  The Waitomo Caves are a village and cave system forming a major tourist attraction in the southern Waikato 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...
  
   district:
  • Aranui Cave
    Waitomo Caves
    The Waitomo Caves are a village and cave system forming a major tourist attraction in the southern Waikato 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...
    
    
  • Gardner's Gut
    Gardner's Gut
    Gardner's Gut is an extensive cave system in the Waitomo area of New Zealand. It is located in the Ruakuri Caves & Bush Scenic Reserve, an area that also contains a number of other natural features of note. The reserve is administered by New Zealand's Department of Conservation...
    
    
  • Mangawhitikau
  • Ruakuri Cave
    Waitomo Caves
    The Waitomo Caves are a village and cave system forming a major tourist attraction in the southern Waikato 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...
    
    
  • Waitomo Cave
    Waitomo Caves
    The Waitomo Caves are a village and cave system forming a major tourist attraction in the southern Waikato 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...
    
    

South Island caves

• Broken River Cave
  Broken River Cave
  Broken River Cave is a long cave in New Zealand, located on State Highway 73. It is from Arthur's Pass and from Christchurch.It is a popular site for passing tourists, however in spring and during heavy rains it can be dangerous to enter the cave. There have been two deaths in the cave, one due...
  
  
• Cathedral Caves
  Cathedral Caves
  The Cathedral Caves are a series of sea caves on the Catlins Coast in New Zealand. They are one of the most popular tourist attractions in the area. The two main caves join together within the cliff, and one has a 30 m high ceiling....
  
  
• Cave Stream Scenic Reserve (DOC entry)
• Clifden Limestone Caves
  Clifden Limestone Caves
  The Clifden Limestone Cave System is located in the Western Southland Region of New Zealand close to the hamlet of Clifden on private land.-Geology:...
  
  
• Fox River Caves
• Honeycomb Hill Cave
  Honeycomb Hill Cave
  Honeycomb Hill Cave is in the South Island of New Zealand.The Oparara River flows though a section of the cave.The cave was discovered in 1976 by the Buller Caving Group. Since then, 14km of passages have been mapped, and several important deposits of moa bones have been discovered in the caves...
  
  
• Maori Leap Cave
• The Metro
• Mount Arthur caves:
  • Ellis Basin cave system
    Ellis Basin cave system
    The Ellis Basin cave system is a group of interconnecting limestone caves located in the Mount Arthur region of the northwest South Island of New Zealand....
    
    
  • Nettlebed Cave
    Nettlebed Cave
    Nettlebed Cave is a limestone cave located in the Mount Arthur region of the northwest South Island of New Zealand.Until April 2010, when the nearby Ellis Basin cave system was found to be deeper, Nettlebed Cave was thought to be the deepest cave system in the southern hemisphere...
    
    
• Mount Owen
  Mount Owen, New Zealand
  Mount Owen is in the Tasman district of the South Island of New Zealand. It stands at 1875 metres above sea level and is part of the Marino Mountains....
  
   caves:
  • Bohemia Cave
  • Bulmer Cavern
    Bulmer Cavern
    Bulmer Cavern is New Zealand's longest cave system, running for 66 km through Mount Owen in the Tasman region of the northwest South Island...
    
    
• Riwaka Resurgence
  Riwaka River
  The Riwaka River is located in the Nelson region in the northwest of New Zealand's South Island. It flows for 20 kilometres, entering Tasman Bay close to the town of Riwaka, 10 kilometres north of Motueka....
  
  
• Takaka caves:
  • Harwood Hole
    Harwood Hole
    Harwood Hole is a cave system located in the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand. It is one of several important cave systems in Takaka Hill, between Golden Bay and Tasman Bay. Starting at the surface as a 50 metre round entrance and descending 183 metres, Harwood Hole is New Zealand's...
    
    
  • Moonsilver Cave
• Te Ana-au Caves
  Te Ana-au Caves
  The Te Ana-au caves are a culturally and ecologically important system of limestone caves on the western shore of Lake Te Anau, in the southwest of New Zealand. It was discovered in 1948 by Lawson Burrows, who found the upper entry after three years of searching, following clues in old Māori legends...
  
  
  • Aurora Cave
    Aurora Cave
    Aurora Cave is a limestone cave, part of the Te Ana-au Caves in Fiordland, in the South Island of New Zealand on the western side of a deep glacial trough containing Lake Te Anau. Aurora Cave is separated by a sump from Te Ana-au Cave . The cave has been formed by the Tunnel Burn, which drains from...
    
    
• Xanadu Caves
• Babylon Cave

External links

• List of New Zealand's longest cave systems