Underworld Adventures was established in 1987 by Geoff Schurr, Ray Moroney and Stu Berendt, cavers with many years as leading cave explorers and educationalists. With their extensive knowledge, understanding and passion for the caves and karst on the West Coast they founded a company that offers the opportunity to experience exactly this, the beauty of a world that lays beneath our feed and to develop an understanding for this hidden treasure.
29 years later Underworld Adventures has developed into a small company providing a unique variety of cave adventures. Underworld Rafting; a 4 hour Black Water Rafting adventure in the Paparoa National Park is a magical journey into the raw untamed natural Metro Cave System. The trip starts with a short train ride along the bank of the Nile River taking the freshly formed exploration team right into the rainforest. Surrounded by limestone cliffs and the sound of nature a climb up leads to a high entrance where torches are switched on and the decent back to the river starts. Breaking the darkness the group meanders through a paradise of stalactites and stalagmites in the upper dry levels of the Metro/Te Ananui Cave System. Down in the lower active levels a shallow underground river indicates the way out. The final part is a magic and fitting reward for maneuvering the tire through the cave. Floating in the tube using only the natural light of an awe inspiring display of glow worms 250 m of underground water system are crossed. These dazzling underground dwellers are only found in NZ and illuminate the water passage in an amazing blue green twinkling light. Emerging from the cave into a remote and untouched world announces the wet finish: a fun ride down the gentle Nile River leading back to the train. Arriving back at base in Charleston, hot showers are close and the tranquility of this untouched world moves on. However the memories will stay for a long time.
For anyone more leisure seeking, the Glowworm Cave Tour offers a dry version of the Underworld Rafting: a truly memorable journey through the dry levels and into the back of the cave system viewing a breathtaking exit and glowworm colony.
For the thrill seeking adventurers out there a full on expedition style adventure caving trip gets you down into the active levels of Te Tahi, involving abseils, climbing, chimneying, squeezing over, through and along an active stream way.
Whatever cave adventure you commit to, afterwards this land of beyond, a world deep down below, silent, timeless, ancient old, dark, breathtaking and usually only visited by the keen, skilled and hardy adventurers is a bit closer and you gained a glimpse into a part of New Zealand that is seldomly visited, rarely illuminated and like a sleeping beauty incredible beautiful.
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See and Do
- Underworld Adventures Charleston (0.0 miles) - Underworld Adventures was established in 1987 by Geoff Schurr, Ray Moroney and Stu Berendt, cavers w...
