Grammie, Pop-Pop and the Metro Cave

Just south of Westport, the small town of Charleston hosts a series of caves and former mining tunnels that have interested us since our arrival.  We’ve explored a bunch of these spaces on our own with varied results–some spectacular and some just spectacularly wet and muddy.  With Jeremy’s parents in town, we decided to take a commercial tour into one of the largest caves on the South Island (reputed to be the 9th largest cave in NZ).  It had been raining straight for three days, so we knew that we would encounter some water in the cave; however, we weren’t anticipating that the day of our tour would be the wettest day of the week.  Still, the show must go on, so we headed out to the tour center, got ourselves outfitted with gear and got ready for our adventure.

After a short van ride, we boarded a “rainforest” train in the pouring rain which took us through the bush to the trail to the cave.  A sloshy hike through mud, rivers and puddles led to a 129-step (Leah counted) stairway up a muddy cliff to the cave entrance.

After a quick snack and a test of the head torches, we went into the cave, led by Peter our trusted kiwi guide.  After a narrow tunnel entrance, we found ourselves in a huge chasm decorated with stunning formations, high ceilings and running water.  Then our tour meandered through the cave, passing various rooms and tunnels with names like “the Alter,” “the Opera House,” “Giraffe Corner,” and the “Hall of Refugees.”  Only Rose got away with not having to bend down to squeeze through some of the narrower passages.

By far, the most beautiful spot in cave was the opposite entrance where the light from outside lit up rain water falling from giant holes in the ceiling of the cave.  This is where we stopped for lunch while we waited for the water levels to decrease before getting to the glow worm chambers.

Unfortunately, even after our break, we would have had to wade through chest high water to get to the prime glow worm chamber, so we had to settle for a smaller, but still beautiful display.  Then, it was a quicker walk back through the cave, down 129 steps, through the bush and across the bridge to the train.  After another wet train ride, we were finally able to dry off at the cafe where we peeled off our wet, stinky shoes and warmed up with hot chocolate.

All in all, a really fun adventure.  Here is the full set of photos.