Maitai caves a hole-some experience
The Maitai Caves are an accessible gem hidden away in Nelson’s Maitai Valley. sheds some light on this ‘darksome place’.
When my daughter was nineyears-old, she went to the Maitai Caves with a school group. I wasn’t there but heard a lot about the long, arduous walk and very little about the caves.
Seven years later, I visited the Caves for myself and was pleasantly surprised to find a fairly flat, easy 90minute (6.5km) walk through bush that can be done in sneakers.
To get to the start, head up the Maitai Valley Road for 12km from Nelson CBD and park in the signposted area. Take a moment to marvel at the Maitai Dam and the beauty of the Upper Maitai Valley before you set out.
The first half of the walk is predominantly beech forest with views of the Maitai River South Branch, and you’ll find several interesting interpretive panels that capture the area’s human and natural history. The track is well-marked and there are a couple of stream crossings, which you may be able to manage without taking your shoes off or getting your feet wet.
The second half of the track is a bit rougher, and there are a few roots to scramble over, but again it is well-marked so you can’t get lost.
I was with a friend who once worked for the Department of Conservation. She told me about the evolution of track markers from the earliest days, when there were hand-painted signs.
These were replaced by strips of what is commonly called Venetian blind; and this cheap, sturdy material is still visible some 30 years later. Finally, bright orange triangles, which have higher visibility in the bush appeared.
There is a short climb to the cave entrance and a small limestone outcrop provides the perfect spot for a bite to eat. You can either peer down into the cave, or if you can don’t mind confined spaces and muddy surfaces, venture in.
Just make sure you have a torch and someone to go with. The first cave is about 15m-long, steepsided, slippery even in dry weather and, yes, dark. So take care. There is a second smaller chamber behind the first cave, which we didn’t venture into.
If you go to the caves, please don’t remove any material. These fragile limestone systems take thousands of years to build. The stalagmites rise from the floor (might reach the top) and the stalactites hang from the ceiling (hold on tight).
Back home reading about others’ visits to the caves, I found an extract from The Colonist (24 December, 1892) that described the adventures of a party of ‘seven ladies and nine of the sterner sex’.
A party member told how they ‘slid down grandly into the arms of the guide, some ten or twelve feet below. A darksome place? Rather; but with plenty of candle ends all alight the darkness was soon dispelled, and every member safely landed on the stalagmitic floor. Exploration commenced. What a noise! A terrible noise, as of rushing waters.
Yes, my friend, out of this cavern, and from its dark recesses, the waters rush out through the sides of the mountain, and make one of the heads of the river Maitai.’
My own trip report, delivered to my daughter, was simply that the Maitai Caves walk is worthy of an afternoon excursion.
Also, next time I will take my thermos and have a cup of tea at the cave entrance.