Underworld Adventures

Underworld Rafting: Underworld Rafting is a superb 4-hour adventure in the enormous Ananui (Metro) Cave in the Paparoa National Park. On this adventure, you are equipped with wet suits, wet suit socks, boots, gloves, and a helmet at our unique purpose-built base in Charleston. After changing, we leave base ready for an adventure, and a short 10-minute drive brings us to our starting point.

Surrounded by the lush West Coast rainforest, we board one of our Rainforest Trains at the start of the Ananui Canyon. 15-minute journey takes us up to a splendid upper terminal right in the heart of the rainforest, where towering limestone cliffs and the sound of water tell a tale of water-worn passages below.

Following the river upstream, a short walk is the perfect time to pick up tubes and to soak up the peaceful atmosphere. Leaving the river bed, 130 steps lead to one of the highest cave entrances. High above the Nile River, we disappear into the cave system. Emerging into this hidden world, we explore a calcite paradise of stalactites and stalagmites, crossing huge chambers, following a maze system of passages, and the group disappears deeper and deeper into the cave. The walk through the cave is enriched with illustrations, explanations, and stories of how the cave has formed, local caving history, and interesting facts and figures.

Guided by the light of our torches, the group descends into the bottom level of the cave, where a dry underground river bed guides us to the edge of a subterranean lake. The excitement builds, and sitting on our tubes, linked together, we float under a stream of twinkling blue-green glow worm lights, using only the natural light of the glow worms as a navigational aid. We exit the cave into a remote and untouched lost world.  A short tube down the gentle rapids of the Waitakere River brings us back to the train.

We supply all necessary gear for the trip, and during the Underworld Rafting adventure, we also take photos, which will be digitally supplied to all visitors free of charge.

This is an award-winning adventure, taking you to a place few are privileged to experience. Hidden in the dark and nestled in a breathtaking, rugged rainforest landscape, this is an adventure that should not be missed.