ANNOTATED LISTING OF KARST FEATURES AND CAVES IN NATIONAL PARKS, RESERVES, STATE FOREST PARKS, ECOLOGICAL AREAS, STATE FORESTS AND FARM PARKS
The following listing of karst features and caves in National Parks, Scenic Reserves, Forest Parks, Ecological Areas, and State Forests is based on the Register of Protected Natural Areas in New Zealand (Lands and Survey, 1984); the New Zealand Speleological Bulletin; Wilde (1981); Wilde (1985); Rautjoki and Millar (1984); Scenic Reserves of the Waitomo Area - Management Plan (Lands and Survey 1984); personal communications: and the personal knowledge of the authors.
The listing is the most definitive to date, but more physical and biological data are required to establish what types of karst, karst features, karst ecosystems and caves are represented and whether they are representative in terms of Ecological Regions and Districts. The authors take complete responsibility for any omissions or mistakes in the list.
The areas are shown by Ecological Regions and Districts (Protected Natural Area System).
e.g. RAUKUMARA (= Ecological Region); Waioeka (= Ecological District)
| SR = Scenic Reserve | QEIT = Queen Elizabeth II National Trust |
| ScR = Scientific Reserve | PPL = Private Protected Land |
| NR = Nature Reserve | MR = Maori Reservation |
| CC = Conservation Covenant | SFP = Forest Park |
| EA = Ecological Area | SF = State Forest - (Stewardship Areas) |
| NP = National Park | FP = FarmPark |
| 1. NATIONAL PARKS: | ||
| RAUKUMARA Waioeka |
UREWERA NP: No records of extensive caves. Some small caves associated with Maori tradition, and numerous small overhangs. Some recent discoveries of moderately extensive caves. | |
| NORTH-WEST NELSON Arthur |
ABEL TASMAN NP: Harwood Hole - Starlight cave system (-375m), one of New Zealand's most significant vertical caves. Many small caves, depressions, dolines and tomos. Gorge Creek Cave and resurgence from Harwood - Starlight cave system. Marble karst topography. Troglobitic invertebrates. | |
| NORTH WESTLAND Punakaiki |
PAPAROA NP: Dolomite Point. Coastal 'pancake' type limestone formations and blow holes. Type locality for Carmichaelia arenaria. Threatened shore spurge present. A number of steep limestone gorges, escarpments, karst plateaus, karst syncline, massive dolines, polje, and other karst features. Limestone. Many caves including Bullock Creek Caves - several caves, several kms long; Winding Staircase; Telluris; Xanadu system; Cataract Pot; Cave Creek Cave; Cave Creek North and Armaggedon; Tunc-minimus; Fox River Cave; Babylon Cave amongst many others. Area not fully explored for caves. Troglobitic invertebrates, glow-worms, sub-fossils. Most extensive karst and cave area in any New Zealand national park. Nile River Caves (Metro or Ananui Cave). Approximately 7km long. Well decorated. Troglobitic invertebrates. Sub-fossil avifauna and tuatara. Glow-worms. Rare cave beetle. (Entry by permit only). | |
| FIORD Doubtful and Darran |
FIORDLAND NP: Te Ana-au-Aurora Cave, several kilometres long (restricted
access Takahe Area). Te Ana-au Cave (administered by Fiordland Travel Ltd) Glow-worms. Troglobitic
invertebrates. Mount Luxmore has something in the order of 16 known caves
including Steadfast Cave, Luxless Cave, and Luxmore Cave. Troglobitic invertebrates.
Subfossil avifauna and lizards/skinks.
There are several other caves and karst areas in the park including Maori Burial Cave, Sutherland Sound, Caswell Sound, Bligh Sound and Chalky Inlet reported caves. Preservation Inlet some marble and limestone reported. The potential of Fiordland National Park in terms of karst and caves is not fully known and warrants further investigation. |
|
| 2.RESERVES: | ||
| EASTERN NORTHLAND
Eastern Northland |
WAIPU CAVES SR: Short cave with large chamber. Glowworms, karst topography. Limestone | |
| Kaipara Kaipara |
MONTGOMERY'S MEMORIAL BUSH SR: Limestone.
MAUNGATUROTO SR: Undulating limestone hill country. Dacite cone. |
|
| Western Northland Tangihua |
PUKEKOHE HILL SR: Argillaceous limestone. One of the largest kauri in New Zealand. | |
| WARO LIMESTONE SR: Karst topography, tors and karren. Limestone. | ||
| Tutamoe | MAMARANUI SETTLEMENT SR: Argillaceous limestone. | |
| TAINUI Raglan |
NGATOKA-A-WARIHI SR: Limestone. Pancake-type formations. | |
| TE KARAKA SR: Limestone, blue mudstone, sandstone. | ||
| Kawhia | TE KAURI PARK SR Muturangi Stream with towering limestone bluffs Libocedrus plumosa. Small caves amongst calcareous sandstones. | |
| PARKINSON SR: Limestone/sandstone (?) Phebalium nudum (southernmost record). | ||
| RAKANUI SR: Limestone bluffs. Scandia roseafolia | ||
| KAWHIA HARBOUR SR: Coastal limestone Pancake-type formations, Metrosideros carminea (rare and endangered). | ||
| AWAROA SR Limestone bluffs. Hebe rigidula. Asplenium lyalli. Metrosideros carminea. Kokako. | ||
| MAROKOPA FALLS SR Includes Piripiri Caves. Glow-worms. Small caves, karst topography. Limestone. Fossils. | ||
| TAUMATATOTARA EAST SR: Limestone outcrops and small caves reported. | ||
| KING COUNTRY Waitomo |
TE RAUMAKU CAVES SR: Rose's House Cave. Small caves and limestone arches. Subfossil avifauna. | |
| WAITOMO CAVES SR: World famous Glow-worm Grotto (administered by the Tourist Hotel Corporation). Glow-worms. Troglobitic invertebrates. Asplenium trichomanes, Peperomia urvilleana. | ||
| RUAKURI CAVES AND BUSH SR: Ruakuri and Aranui Caves. Glow-worms. Troglobitic invertebrates. Subfossil avifauna. Includes part of Gardners Gut cave system. Yanks Cave (closed). Karst topography, dolines, tomo and limestone arch (administered by the Tourist Hotel Corporation) Long-tailed bats observed. P.urvilleana, Asplenium lyalli. | ||
| TAPUAE PROP SR: Limestone. Karst topography. Caves. | ||
| ORAHIRI SR; Limestone outcrops. Tomo. Asplenium lamprophyllum near southern limit. | ||
| UEKAHA SR Limestone outcrops. Peperomia urvilleana (farthest inland record in a protected natural area). Metrosideros carminea (rare and endangered). | ||
| HOLLOW HILL SR: Large cave known as Hollow Hill Cave. Troglobitic invertebrates. Glow-worms. Asplenium lyalli, P. urvilleana. Karst topography. (Entry by permit only.) | ||
| JOHNSTONE BLOCK (PUTAKI) (Proposed SR): Limestone outcrops. Hebe rigidula, very localised. Asplenium lyalli, P. urvilleana. Kokako. Long-tailed bats reported. | ||
| STUBBS QEII: Small caves. Karst topography. | ||
| MAROKOPA NATURAL TUNNEL SR: Deep, narrow limestone gorge. Double natural arch. Fossils. Scandia roseafolia, P. urvilleana. Recently reported cave. | ||
| NGAHUINGA BLUFFS SR: Limestone bluffs and outcrops. Fossils. Scandia roseafolia. P.urvilleana. | ||
| MANIAPOTO'S CAVE MR : Large dry cavern said to have been used by Maniapoto, the principal ancestor of the tribe of the same name. | ||
| MANGAOKEWA GORGE SR: Limestone bluffs, gorge and escarpment. Fossils. | ||
| KOROPUPU SR (Proposed ScR): Large cave, 100m long. Karst topography. Limestone. Fossils. Glow-worms. Asplenium trichomanes, A. lyallii x a. flaccidum, Senecio rufiglandulosus, Teucridium parvifolium (rare and endangered). | ||
| WAIPUNA SR: Waipuna Cave, several kms long. Well decorated. Glow-worms. Troglobitic invertebrates Limestone. Fossils. Peripatus. | ||
| NGAPAENGA SR: Steep limestone gorge. | ||
| WAITANGURU SR: Briar's Cave, approximately 1km long. Troglobitic invertebrates. Subfossil avifauna. Rare cave beetle. Karst topography. Limestone. Fossils. | ||
| GRAND CANYON (Prop NR): Large cave, 100m long and up to 30m high. Limestone. Long-tailed bat roost. Fossils. Asplenium lyalli, P.urvilleana. | ||
| PUKETITI FLOWER CAVE (Prop CC): Extensive cave with gypsum speleothems, including unique forms (entry by permit only). Limestone. Subfossil bat spp, and avifauna. | ||
| MANGAOTAKI SR: High limestone bluffs. Fossils. | ||
| MANGAOTAKI GORGE SR: Limestone outcrops, bluffs, and gorge. Fossils. | ||
| PAEMAKO SR: Limestone outcrops. | ||
| MAHOENUI SR: High limestone bluffs. | ||
| MANGAORONGO SR: Limestone outcrops and gorge. | ||
| TARANAKI North Taranaki |
MOKAU RIVER SR: (south bank) Limestone bluffs. | |
| WAIROA Waimana |
MANGAONE CAVES SR: Mangaone Cave, 160m long. Limestone. | |
| RUAHINE Ruahine |
SENTRY BOX SR: Limestone outcrops. | |
| Heretaunga | HARTREE FOREST QEII: Limestone. | |
| EAST HAWKES BAY East Hawkes Bay | PARKERS BUSH NR: Limestone. | |
| MOHI BUSH SR: Limestone outcrops. | ||
| McLEANS BUSH SR: Limestone outcrops. | ||
| RANGITIKEI Rangitikei |
MAKINO SR: Limestone outcrops | |
| APUTA SR: Limestone bluffs and gorge. | ||
| MANUWATU Woodville | PAHIATUA HILL SR: Limestone gorge and outcrops. | |
| PAHIATUA Puketoi | PIPINUI SR: Limestone gorges and outcrops. | |
| MAKURI GORGE SR: Limestone bluffs and gorge. | ||
| MAKURI TOWNSHIP: Weathered limestone. | ||
| INLAND MARLBOROUGH George Medway |
ISOLATED HILL SR: Highly siliceous limestone - largely solution-resistant. Gorges, bluffs etc Sulphurous seepages from underlying strata. Very large range of plant species in small area, including some unusual associations. Rare species - Myosotis arnoldii (only known locality), Wahlenbergia mathewsii, Gentiana astonii (limestone endemics). | |
| KAIKOURA Aniseed |
WAIPAPA POINT SR: Limestone cliffs terraces and headlands. | |
| LOWRY Hundalee |
MONKEY FACE SR: Limestone and ryholite cliffs. Caves reported. Near southern limit of Celmisia monroi | |
| NORTH-WEST NELSON Whanganui |
MANGARAKAU SR: Steep limestone bluffs and faces. Forested caves, dolines and shafts. Only habitat west of Powelliphanta gilliesi aurea | |
| HANSON-WINTER PPL: Coastal limestone bluff. | ||
| GOLDEN BAY | PUPU SPRINGS SR: Largest freshwater springs in the southern hemisphere. Springs fed by aquifer in underlying marble. Historic gold workings. | |
| GROVE SR: Limestone bluffs. | ||
| PAYNES FORD SR: Limestone outcrops and tomo. Irvines Cave, extensive. Highly vandalised. | ||
| DRY RIVER SR: Steep forested marble bluffs. A small outlier on tertiary limestone. Includes entrance to Council Cave (Motupipi Cave), which is one of only two caves in Golden Bay with the cave spider Spelungula cavernicola. | ||
| Arthur | RAMEKA CREEK SR: Steep forested marble bluffs. | |
| POKORORO SR: Marble. Breretons Cave. Short cave with fauna. | ||
| TAKAKA HILL SR: Marble bluffs. | ||
| RIWAKA SR: Riwaka Resurgence Cave. Convoluted marble formation and tomo. Best example of mixed beech-podocarp/broadleaf forest in upper in situ marble. | ||
| HUIA CAVE SR: Huia Caves. Limestone. | ||
| SPENSER Rotoroa | SPHINX SR; High limestone bluffs. Tomos (shafts) in limestone plateau | |
| NORTH-WEST NELSON Karamea | TOKOMOANA SR: Steep limestone cliff facing the Tasman Sea. | |
| HIWINUI SR: Siltstone and limestone. | ||
| KARAMEA BLUFF SR: Sandy limestones. Powelliphanta sp. Hebe townsonii (localised) | ||
| NELSON Bryant | ANISEED VALLEY SR: Limestone bluffs and waterfall. Cave reported | |
| NORTH WESTLAND Buller | ROSEMONT SR: Siltstone, mudstone,limestone | |
| Reefton | INANGAHUA LANDING SR: Limestone,mudstone, siltstone, sandstone. | |
| UPPER BULLER GORGE SR: Limestone | ||
| MT COURTNEY SR: Calcareous sandstone, siltstone, limestone. | ||
| Blackball | RAPAHOE RANGE SR: Limestone bluffs. Many caves reported. | |
| Greymouth | OMOTUMOTO SR: Limestone ridges. Southern limit of rangiora on West Coast. | |
| MARSDEN SR: Isolated thin capping of limestone. | ||
| LOWRY Motunau | NANEPAPA SR: Steep limestone escarpment, outcrops and sinkholes. | |
| PUKETERAKI Cass | Cave Stream SR: Broken River Cave. Short through cave. Limestone bluffs Asplenium lyalli and other lime-preferring plants. | |
| PAREORA Orari | MORRISON I.J. CC: Marble, fossils. Long-tailed bat sp. Lime-adapted plants. | |
| Waimate PAREROA SR: Limestone slopes and river terraces. | ||
| CATLINS Tahakopa | WAIPATI BEACH SR: Cathedral Caves, 30m high and 100m into sea cliffs. Sandstone. | |
| MAKAREWA Southland Plains | FOREST HILL SR: Weta Cave and Clearing Cave. Two very small caves. | |
| 3. FOREST PARKS: | ||
| KAIMANAWA Kaimanawa | KAWEKA FP: Some karst topography. Fossils. | |
| RICHMOND Pelorus and NELSON Bryant |
MOUNT RICHMOND FP; Late Permian limestones lie in a series of fault bounded strips across the upper western slopes of the northern Bryant Range and west of and Red Hills in the southern Richmond Range. Karst and underground drainage. Shafts with subfossil deposits in the south. | |
| NORTH-WEST NELSON Arthur |
NORTH-WEST NELSON FP: Mount Arthur marble massif and karst fields. Numerous deep caves including - Nettlebed Cave 24.5km passage, 889m deep. Deepest and longest cave in New Zealand, and deepest in the southern hemisphere. HH (-623m) Windrift (-362m); Gorgoroth (-346m); Blackbird (-319m) and Laghu (-307m). Ellis and Horseshoe Basin Karstfield with numerous deep potholes and alpine karst features. High numbers of lime-preferring flora reported. Powelliphanta spp subfossils. | |
| North Arthur Range and South Takaka Hill: steep marble peaks and extensive marble covered plateau. Many stream sinks, dolines, and shafts. Endemic plant spp. Cave fauna. Powelliphanta spp. | ||
| Northern portion of Mt Owen: Glacio-karst marble massif. Many caves including the Amphitheatre, Giant's Staircase(-260m), Blue Creek Cave, Turks Torrent (+214m). Cave fauna. | ||
| Heaphy | Heaphy Track (Gouland Downs): Karst topography and formations. Limestone. Number of caves near Gouland Downs Hut. Caves relatively unexplored. | |
| Heaphy River (lower)/Gunner River Area: Extensive lowland limestone karst. Relatively unexplored. Caves include Coppers Cave (extensive). Cave fauna including Spelungula cavernicola | ||
| Kararmea | Oparara Highly karstified forested landscape. Limestone. Honeycomb Hill Cave, 70+ entrances. Nationally significant subfossil assemblage. Troglobitic invertebrates. Spelungula cavernicola, a spider of limited distribution. Glow-worms. Hormotila, or Hormotilopsis sp. (algae previously unrecorded in NZ). Lime-preferring flora (?). Three limestone arches. Karst topography. Giant landsnails. Numerous other caves (partly within Kohaihai Ecological Area.) | |
| Wangapeka | Walker Ridge - Parapara Ridge: Marble karst. Forested. Many dolines. High relief. | |
| Mt Mytton: Isolated marble alpine karst. Many tomo. Garibaldi Ridge: limestone plateaus, dolines, tomo, and cave. | ||
| Trilobite Rock, Cobb Valley: Remnant limestone outcrop with small cave. Trilobite fossils of late middle Cambrian age. | ||
| Barron's Flat: limestone peneplain. Moonsilver Cave (approx 2km). Subfossils. Cave fauna, including glow-worms. | ||
| Mount Arthur Tablelands: limestone pereplain. Caves, subfossils, cave fauna, historic sites. | ||
| Leslie - Karamea: lirnestone plateau. Forest covered remnant limestone peneplain. Caves (?). | ||
| Mt Patriarch: Steep alpine marble karst. | ||
| Turk Ridge: Steep alpine marble karst, with many dolines. | ||
| Wakamarama | Mt Burnett: Dolomite/marble (mining). Dolines and tomo. | |
| West Whanganui | Cavernous limestone outcrops on Kahurangi coastline. Taitapu Cave (extensive). Fauna, subfossils, fossils. | |
| 4. ECOLOGICAL AREAS: | ||
| KING COUNTRY Waitomo |
TAUMATATAWHERO EA: Limestone. Karst topography. Some small caves reported. | |
| PUAROA EA: Limestone. Karst topography, dolines, gorges, caves. (NB: proposed extension to above EA) | ||
| NORTH-WEST NELSON Karamea | KOHAIHAI EA: Honeycomb Hill Cave. (See North-West Nelson FP) | |
| NORTH WESTLAND Punakaiki | BLACKWATER EA: Many limestone outcrops. | |
| TIROPAHI EA: Extensive limestone topography. Caves reported include Equinox, and Madona. Extensive subfossils. Cave fauna. | ||
| FIORD Te Anau | DIGGERS RIDGE EA: Limestone, sandstone hill country | |
| 5. STATE FORESTS: (Stewardship Areas) | ||
| KING COUNTRY Waitomo |
TAWARAU SF: Limestone karst topography. Caves (partly within Taumatatawhero Ecological Area). | |
| MAHOE SF: Limestone karst topography, dolines, tomo, small caves. Glow-worms. Lime-preferring ferns. Fossils | ||
| TONGARIRO Tongariro | TAUREWA SF: Limestone. Frazer's Bluff Cave. Glow-worms. | |
| NORTH-WEST NELSON Arthur |
OWEN SF: Mount Owen marble, sub-alpine, glacio-karst fields and tableland. Numerous deep caves and karst features including - Bulmer Cave-Castle Keep system (-790m), 20+km long); Curtis Ghyll (-290m); Tumble-Tor Pot (-200m); Tralfamadore (-220m), Owen Ice Cavern, only known cave in New Zealand containing ice formations. High number of lime-preferring plants reported | |
| NORTH-WEST NELSON Many |
MATIRI SF: Karst plateau. Limestone cap over calcareous sandstone. No caves recorded. Matiri dolines. Resurgences below plateau. | |
| NORTH WESTLAND Reefton (?) | ORIKAKA SF: Limestone. Karst topography. Numerous small caves and dolines. | |
| INANGAHUA SF: Profanity and Damnation Caves. Limestone bluffs. Troglobitic invertebrates, | ||
| Punakaiki | PAPAROA SF: Limestone. Karst topography. Caves(?). | |
| KAKANUI Waianakarua | HERBERT SF: One large cave and numerous small ones. Sandstone. | |
| 6. FARM PARKS | ||
| North West Nelson West Whanganui |
Puponga Farm Park: Remnant limestone hills with karst and small caves. | |