Harwood Hole
| Harwood Hole
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 Harwood Hole |
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| Location: | Takaka Hill , South Island , New Zealand | |
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Geographic location: |
40 ° 55 '34 " S , 172 ° 58' 18" O | |
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| Level difference: | 357 m | |
| Particularities: | deepest cave shaft in New Zealand | |
The Harwood Hole (also Harwood's Hole) is a cave system 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 . It was there that the film The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey was shot.
New Zealand's deepest vertical cave shaft is in Harwood Hole. It starts on the surface as a 50 m further, round entrance and reaches 183 m depth, to later meet with the Starlight Cave , at which there is another exit. The descent is done on a rope and is something extraordinary because of the depth. The total depth of the cave is 357 m.
Henry Harwood (1844-1927) opened up the area of the Canaan Downs with John Horton and Thomas Manson and discovered Harwoods Hole. However, the cave was first entered by cave explorers in 1958. After further investigation in 1959, the cave was New Zealand's deepest explored cave, a record that lasted for many years.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Caving in New Zealand (Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand)