CAVE CONSERVATION

Treat cave formations with great care, as they are fragile and  damage cannot be reversed. Avoid touching formations as you pass through the cave, because a muddy handprint can be calcited into the formation and become permanent.

When travelling to cave entrances stick to formed tracks or durable ground to minimise damage to plants. Cavers rarely camp underground except on large expeditions as it is not particularly comfortable and staying in one place for extended periods can cause a lot of damage. Travelling on durable ground means not risking walking on virgin cave formation, taking your packs off when crawling so as not to break stalactites or straws, and not walking on ancient mud banks which may look ‘fresh’ but could be hundreds of years old. Caves aren’t really affected by anything else other than humans, so any damage that we do is permanent. Cave formations can take millennia to form, but only a second to break. Tape and string lines are used to protect particularly delicate areas.

It is fine to photograph eels, fish, spiders, wētā, or kura you find in caves – but leave them alone. Similarly when crossing farm paddocks to or from a cave entrance avoid spooking farm animals. Leave all farm gates as you found them. Also be aware of electric fences, as the current may conduct through wet caving overalls or metal hardware!

By “others” we mean not only other cave users but also landowners in particular. Treat all private property with due respect.  Leave things inside and outside the cave as you would want to find them.

Be it a rock, a piece of cave formation, a wētā or anything else, leave it where you found it. This ensures the cave can not only be enjoyed by others but the ecosystem remains intact. Boot-washing stations are sometimes installed before clean areas of formation, so if you find one obey the signage. Graffiti of any kind is not acceptable.

Pack out absolutely everything you take in, including faeces. Urinating in streams is acceptable but avoided if possible.

Over the years NZSS has been involved in many issues that have, or could have affected the caves and the karst environment that we value, from the West Coast beech forest logging campaign of the 1970s to the local cave clean-up operations that some groups have begun undertaking in recent years, and more recently advocating for the addition of the Charleston Conservation Area to Paparoa National Park.

There will no doubt be many future cave conservation issues. If you are aware of a threat to your local caves, contact the NZSS Conservation Officer. 

NZSS has comprehensive guidelines for cave and karst conservation.

Download the Cave Conservation Guidelines below.

The NZSS Cave Conservation and Access Trust is a charitable trust that was set up to protect and manage caves in New Zealand. Central to the Trust's purposes is the purchase of critical areas of private land that include caves of national significance. The first instance is the purchase in 2023 of a 21 ha block including Greenlink Cave entrances on Tākaka Hill in the Tasman District.

Smaller projects that have been achieved are the restoration of Honeycomb Hut in the Buller District, and an investigation into the management of Whites Cave in the Waitomo District.

‍Donations to the Trust are tax deductible, and can be tagged to a specific project if desired. The Trust is interested in supporting further locally-led cave conservation and access projects, including land purchase. If you have a project idea that you would like the Trust to support, contact one of the trustees.

For further information refer to the Trust website at the link below.