Enter the Original Man Cave This Father’s Day at Waitomo

Enter the Original Man Cave This Father’s Day at Waitomo

With Father’s Day just around the corner, it can be difficult to decide how to spend the day perfectly with Dad. While ‘laxing out in his man cave might sound like the ideal day off, it doesn’t incorporate the whole family. So why not take him on a mystical journey to the ultimate caves – Waitomo’s Aranui and Ruakuri.

Located just two and a half hours drive from Auckland, Waitomo’s Aranui and Ruakuri Caves offer all the charms of your at-home man cave, but with added features that the wife and kids are sure to enjoy.

Aranui Cave is located just five minutes from the famous Waitomo Glowworm Caves and is possibly Waitomo’s best kept secret. Discovered in 1910 Aranui is the most delicate of Waitomo’s three caves, and without a river there is little life past its entrance. However, take one small step inside and you will be able amazed by the spectacular creepy crawlies that call the cave home – a colony of native New Zealand cave wetas.

Once you’ve finished ogling the cave wetas and admiring the beauty of Aranui’s stalactites and stalagmites, head over to Ruakuri Cave, where a guide will take you down the spectacular spiral entrance to New Zealand’s longest underground walking tour.

As with all of the caves at Waitomo, the story of Ruakuri Cave is as old as time. The caves formed more than 30 million years ago with layers of limestone, before being discovered 400-500 years ago by a young Maori man who was chased into the caves by dogs while hunting. The cave re-opened in 2005 and is now a fantastic example of both amazing engineering and natural cave structure, and due to its clever design, Ruakuri Cave has full wheelchair and pushchair access – perfect for a Father’s Day family outing.

You can get to the Waitomo Glowworm Caves on a day trip, or otherwise affordable overnight accommodation options are available.

So why not take the family to a different kind of man cave? Aranui and Ruakuri Caves, located in Waitomo have regular tours running daily. Cost to enter Aranui Cave for a family ticket (two adults and two children) is $118 and a family ticket for Ruakuri Cave is $169.

ENDS

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