Gardner's Gut is an extensive cave system 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 in ...

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 (DOC). With a length of over 12 km of explored passages, it is New Zealand's 6th largest known cave system, and the largest in the North Island.

Description

The caves making up the Gardner's Gut system are almost all composed of former or still active 'stream caves' (i.e. tunnels washed out of the limestone by water action). It is a very well known cave in New Zealand, and probably one of the most visited 'amateur' caves in the country (as opposed to tourist caves providing guided tours, like nearby Waitomo Cave). Various caving clubs from throughout the North Island use it for beginner trips, as it provides a variety of true caving experiences (such as squeeze points, narrow and winding streamways, large underground halls, fascinating formations and bush tramping to get to and from the entrances), yet is easy enough to pass through for any reasonably fit and non-

claustrophobic Claustrophobia is the fear of confined spaces. It can be triggered by many situations or stimuli, including elevators, especially when crowded to capacity, windowless rooms, and hotel rooms with closed doors and sealed windows. Even bedrooms with ...

person. The normal beginners area of the cave is around the ''Zweihoehlen''-entrance ('Two Caves' in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

) near the river. Associated with the large number of amateur trips (whether accompanied by professional cavers or not) is a certain level of degradation in the cave. As cave systems are very fragile environments, many parts of Gardner's Gut cave have been damaged by the relatively frequent visits of inexperienced cavers (with, for example, formations broken off, and limestone formations dirtied, which prevents their continuing growth). However, this damage is almost invisible to a casual amateur. One of the most impressive features of the cave is the 'Birthday Candle', the tallest

stalagmite A stalagmite (, ; from the Greek , from , "dropping, trickling") is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typically ...

in the country, being around 6–7 meters high and having a diameter of around 2 meters.Te Rauamoa: Waitomo and Te Kuiti
(from

Te Araroa Trust Te Araroa (The Long Pathway) is New Zealand's long distance tramping route, stretching circa along the length of the country's two main islands from Cape Reinga to Bluff. Officially opened in 2011, it is made up of a mixture of previously made ...

website. Retrieved 11 December 2007.)

References

{{Waitomo District Caves of New Zealand Limestone caves Wild caves Waitomo District Landforms of Waikato Protected areas of Waikato