THE WAIOTOMOTO CAVES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1989, 10 April 1890, Page 10

THE WAIOTOMOTO CAVES.

The Governor and vice-regal party visited these caves during their sojurn in the King country last week. Entrance is made by a water stream some 20ft wide, flowing underground. The party were conveyed, . three or four at a time, in a 'canoe through a cavernous entrance, a distance of about 50 yards, and landed in the. first ohamber. Tha oaves are of llmestdne formation, and are most ■ remarkable in appearance; indeed, as a sight : they surpass the famous Pink and White - Terraces of Rotorua. The interior of tho • oaveru by whioh entrance is gained is weird in 1 the extreme, : Immense stalactites of earthen 1 colour, hang from the roof and project from the * sides, giving the chamber a . most uncanny / appearance; indeed, the fact that the caves •■ remaiaed so long undiscovered was due to the * dread the Maoris had of the entrance, which, t they believed was haunted by taniwhas. The '■ stream flows always through the oaves, which are ' somewhat intricate in their windings, traversing •' ' a distance of nearly half a mile.' The whole of : this is done on foot. The interior is beautiful / beyond, description. One of the. largest chamberaj. whioh is probably 40ft high, resembles the> interior of a Gdtbio cathedral with a vaulted! ceiling carved out beautifully, as if itt had been done 1 by the chisel of a mason. Immense columns and pillars of limestone do posit rise to the ceiling. Beyond this ia tb' d 11 Glow Worm Chamber," so called because fne roof is illumined by millions of glow worms, V glisten like countless gems. Another eb'^mber is called the " Native Lands Court,'***©*** jj c f ao fc that the stalactites form figures corw aP onding in detail witK^the ocdupants '6f a cor ar t o f jug. tjce. Ascending by means of W adera ot h. er chambers' are Reached, and in thY JB fae formations are of every conceivable low an) j won( jerfully beautiful; some resemWe- wool i en fleeoeß others are like the chiselled * oldß of pure and transparent marble, and ottoy ia a g a!n pos^s the graceful outlines of the loveliest statuary. Soaroely two formations ' are a i ike# Ftom th c roof depend an m jmenso number of stalaotiteß, whioh wigb'.r be more graphically described as crystal rre, cn dants-some being for alh the world hke. bunches of parsnipß, and ! others bemg fully f ltt loßg and no F th f ck^ r than a pencil. The M Or, gan Gallery" contains a good imitation of an organ in pure marble, while in the next oham> e r may be seen a remarkable phenomenon. F rom the eeUing hangs what might be taken, for the folds of a blanket, but whioh is realty limestone formation. It is subtransparent^ and if a light is held behind it one can plainly see the green stripes of a blanket just where they would be. There is a beautiful imitation in miniature of the White Terrace, the suriace of which ia covered with glistening white silicate. Another phenomenon is a foundation of black terraces amongst a white crystallised formation. Probably the loveliest spot of all was the li Fairy Grotto," which from j'ts appearance might have been hollowed out of pure white marble. Here again the stalactites assumed the most fantastic shapes, and were charming in their loveliness. The party finally emerged on the side of the hill 50ft above the spot where they entered. It was the general opinion that the Waiotomo caves will ere long' be one of the moat popular resorts for tourists,and it certainly is now one of the mostattractive.