Product Overview

Experience one of the world's best GlowWorm displays. Unique adventures into an untamed natural wilderness, with spectacular galleries of stalactites and stalagmites, a subterranean lake and a fun river-rafting (tubing!) experience.

Product Description

Underworld Rafting is a superb 4 hour Black Water Rafting adventure in the enormous Te Ananui Metro cave system deep in the Untamed Natural Wilderness of the Paparoa National Park.

On this adventure you will meet your guide at our Underworld Adventure Centre in Charleston, who will equip you with wet suits, wet suit socks, boots, gloves and helmets. Dressed ready for your adventure, a short drive on the Nile River Rainforest Train will take you into the stunning West Coast rainforest with towering limestone cliffs to create a magical backdrop for your adventure.

A short walk leads you to the cave entrance high above the Nile River. You will enter a hidden subterranean world leaving the daylight behind to explore a calcite paradise of stalactites and stalagmites, crossing huge chambers, following a maze of passages through the heart of an ancient multi-levelled cave system. Enriched with illustrations, explanations and stories you will connect to the fragile world you explore and descend to where the water guides you to magical galaxies of glow-worms.

Astounded by this underground night sky, you will serenely float on an subterranean lake to emerge back into daylight, having used only the natural light of the awe inspiring display of glow worms as navigation.

You leave this special place floating in your tube down the fun gentle rapids of the Waitakere Nile River surrounded by the lush rainforest and beautiful limestone cliffs. Returning with the Rainforest Train back to Charleston, this special hidden place stays behind but the memories will stay forever.

This is an award winning adventure at its best. Discover why!

 

The GlowWorm Cave Tour also explores the beautiful Te Ananui Metro cave system, taking a different path to the Underworld Rafting. This walking tour is suited to those who want to experience the best in an untouched guided cave, but want to stay dry!

Meeting at our modern Adventure Centre and Cafe, you’ll be equipped with a caving helmet and light.  You’ll join one of our professional and passionate guides, starting your journey into the spectacular Paparoa National Park, right on the doorstep of Charleston.

Following a short drive into the deep canyon of the Waitakere (Nile) River, you’ll board the Nile River Rainforest Train for a 20 minute journey into the lush forests of the Paparoa National Park. It’s then just a short walk to Te Ananui, climbing high above the river to the cave entrance.

Leaving daylight behind you will explore Te Ananui as the first explorers did: with only the light you bring, and not a a handrail or boardwalk to be seen! It’s truly one of the few natural and “real” guided cave experiences left: seeing, feeling and getting close to an ancient wonderland sculpted by water and decorated with fragile calcite formations.

Underground you will visit such famous formations as The Altar, the highly decorated ‘Hall of Refugees’, Pancake Corner and more, before you emerge back to daylight at the awe-inspiring Main Entrance of Te Ananui – having journeyed right through the mountain!

A short rest, then you’ll head back to find the stars of the show: Arachnocampa luminosa: the New Zealand GlowWorm. One becomes ten, then a hundred, then thousands. Before your eyes, entire galaxies of GlowWorms appear, spanning the ceiling over your head, following the streamway into the distance. Your guides will enrich your journey with captivating illustrations, explanations and stories connecting you with this special place.

Returning via the same path, you’ll emerge back to the daylight. A short stroll leads back to the train, then to the comparative civilisation of Charleston!

This is an unique journey that takes you into one of the few cave systems still publicly accessible in its natural, unspoiled beauty. It’s a simply stunning Eco-tour in a very special place.

Departure Times

Trips daily:

• 9 AM and 11:30 AM (Summer)
• 10AM (Winter)

Bookings Essential.

Duration

Allow 4 hours.

What To Bring

Just bring your swimwear and a towel - we'll provide everything else!

Company Info

Underworld Adventures was established in 1989 by Geoff, along with brother-in-law Stuart, friend Ray Moroney and father-in-law George Berendt.  These West Coast cavers and educationalists were inspired by their educational and cave & karst exploration experiences to offer “novices,” an opportunity to gain a glimpse into their secret world that they were exploring.

With a sense of adventure, passion, a van, a few wetsuits and family support they began as one of the earliest adventure companies on the West Coast- albeit while they continued with their teaching day jobs. So as to cater for members of the public they crafted four distinctly different cave & karst experiences in both the Metro/Te Ananui and Te Tahi Cave Systems. Since the early 90’s, Geoff, Stu and Ray along with a team of passionate staff, have been responsible for guiding, developing and improving the company. The Company has emerged from a small struggling entity that hosted 5 visitors in its first year to one that now hosts around 10,000 visitors each year. It has become an internationally acclaimed draw-card for visitors to our spectacular West Coast “Untamed  Natural Wilderness”

Now many years later, with many guides, managers, office staff, and maintenance staff in the field, the vision driving the company’s success and that that motivates the staff, remains as the founders first envisioned; “to share safely with visitors, our passion and knowledge of the spectacular fragile hidden wilderness of the truly unique West Coast Cave and Karst, and in doing this- protect the place and create an meaningful, unforgettable, fun, educative cave experience”.

Today we invite you to explore with us, this hidden wonderland, sculptured in rock, created by forces of nature and beautifully and decorated with calcite crystals and water filled passages inhabited by millions of surreal twinkling glowworms.

General Manager (and founding Director Geoff’s son) Aidan Schurr now continues the family tradition, and says, “It’s such a privilege to be able to bring visitors into this incredible environment. So many show caves have been heavily modified with boardwalks, concrete paths and handrails prevailing. But we’re so lucky to help people experience what true caving feels like – natural, spectacular and real. We’re proud to be custodians of Te Ananui, and every trip I take underground feels just as special as the first.”