Mangawhitikau Cave
| Mangawhitikau Cave
|
||
|---|---|---|
| Location: | Waitomo , Waikato , New Zealand | |
|
Geographic location: |
38 ° 15 '40.5 " S , 175 ° 6' 15.9" O | |
|
||
| Show cave since: | Yes | |
| Lighting: | Yes | |
| Overall length: | 8404 m | |
Mangawhitikau Cave ( Māori Mangawhitikau : "Do not swim over this stream", also Māori Te Ana o te Atua "spirit cave") is a cave near Waitomo in the Waikato region in New Zealand . It has a total length of 8404 m, of which 350 m have not yet been investigated.
Numerous "glowworms" live in the cave . The journalist David Attenborough recorded a large part of the footage about the glowworms for the documentary "Life in the Underground" in the cave.
The cave, which has been accessible since 2004, is used for tourism including a boat tour of the cave lake and a tea break.
There are animal bones in the cave, such as those from the extinct moas . Inside the cave there are several shaft-like openings into the open air, so-called "tomos".
As the Mangawhitikau Stream flows through the cave when the water level is high, the ascent can be dangerous. On July 5, 1986, a group of seven speleologists were trapped in the cave for 15 hours because the water blocked the way back. Eight years later, a person drowned in the cave.
Individual evidence
- ^ Cave Formation at Spellbound, accessed April 3, 2015
- ↑ a b Mangawhitikau Cave bei Lochstein.d, accessed April 3, 2015
- ↑ LONGEST & DEEPEST - Cave Statistics . New Zealand Speleological Society , 2018, accessed April 29, 2019 .
- ^ Frances Morton: Brush with death in cave burial New Zealand Herald, October 17, 2010, accessed April 3, 2015