Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GOING UNDERGROUND
Keep an eye out fortomo(cave) openings as you wander around the Mt Arthur Table-
land, because beneath your feet lies a vast subterranean world of abyssal shafts,
cathedralesque chambers and endlessly winding passages and waterways.
Over the course of millions of years, water has eroded the limestone and marble
heart of the Kahurangi National Park, creating some of the deepest and most intricate
cave systems in NZ. Under Mt Arthur's western flank are two of the biggest, Stormy
Pot and Nettlebed, which have been explored by an elite team of spelunkers who
spend weeks at a time below ground. Climbing, abseiling, clambering, squeezing and
sometimes even swimming their way through this labyrinthine underworld, the team
has discovered and mapped some 40-odd kilometres of passages.
Armed with gumboots, head torches and a mole-like disregard for claustrophobia,
the spelunkers enter into systems through yawns in the karst landscape with evocat-
ive names like Big Friendly Giant and Blizzard Pot. Following the flow of water and the
draught that blows through the caves, the spelunkers are convinced that the two sys-
tems are linked. No connection has been found yet, but surveys show that Nettlebed
and Stormy Pot are aligned around two vast chambers dubbed Neverland and Good-
bye Yellow Brick Road. The search for NZ's deepest cave continues…
Watch where you tread and don't be tempted to go spelunking yourself: this is one
pursuit that should definitely be left to the experts! You can, however, get a safe peak
into this subterranean wonderland at Ngarua Caves atop Takaka Hill, or Rawhiti Cave
in Golden Bay.
Day 3: Salisbury Lodge to Flora Car Park
4 HOURS, 14KM, 190M DESCENT
The last leg of this tramp is a relatively easy amble along a former stock route, passing a
series of interesting landmarks along the way.
The track begins in front of Salisbury Lodge and heads north across the open tussock
lands towards Upper Junction and Flora Valley. Around 20 minutes into the day, a short side
track leads to
Dry Rock Shelter
, an unusual rock bivvy.
The track continues its gentle descent, eventually dropping into the bush alongside Bal-
loon Creek, and passing Growler Shelter, nestled into an overhang.
Having headed east (the right fork) at Upper Junction, the Flora Track levels out and
crosses Gridiron Creek. It then ambles through
Gridiron Gulch
, within which you will pass
Gridiron Shelter, a rock bivvy burrowed under two mammoth rocks. Amongst its many ad-
mirable features is a sleeping loft.
