ÌÇÐÄvlog´«Ã½

In this region huge shafts drop abruptly through the surface of the ground, revealing underground cave systems.

In some, among the tangled shapes of stalagmites and stalactites, glow-worms create mini Milky Way's on rocky cave walls and roofs. Others have their own appeal: high chambers with pale brown, pink and white stalactites, or long caves that can be explored by a black-water raft excursion where you drift through the darkness along underground rivers.

For the more adventurous, there are caves reached by abseil descents, canyons for tubing and adventurous underground scrambles. At the heart of this underground paradise the town of Waitomo is a convenient stop between Auckland and North Island’s thermal centres of Taupo or Rotorua.