SUBTERARANEAN PARADISE.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 464, 19 April 1890, Page 4

SUBTERARANEAN PARADISE.

THE WAITOMO CAVES. FAIRYLAND IN THE KING COUNTRY. (by our special reporter.) No. 111. There was much to admire in the organ gallery and its surroundings, and we were loth to leave this charming spot, but the desire to get a glimpse of the whole of the wonders beyond caused us to hasten our footsteps. Returning from the gallery, we passed the well, which is a remarkable phenomenon. It is close to the pathway, and, indeed, so close as to be almost a danger to the unwary. The well is circular in shape, and is said to be twelve feet in diameter, though it does not look to be so wide. It descends perpendicularly to Mace’s Cavern, nearly fifty feet below, and its sides are of smooth limestone. The interior of the well is quite a curiosity. All the way down light and dark colours alternate as if the sides had been carefully painted in stripes, or one might even get the impression that the inside walls of the well are of bricks of light and dark shades alternately laid. The effect is for all the world like the striped coat of a zebra, and is very curious. THE FAIRY GROTTO was the next spot to engage our attention, and once more we were charmed. Bending our heads to’ avoid contact with the lovely crystal pendants which hang from the roof, we passed through a low circular opening into grotto, beautiful enough for the abode of the most exacting fairy. The entrance to the chamber is in itself a study. Each side of the entrance is of a different formation to the other. To the right, the colour is a very light grey, while the substance of which the roof is composed is not unlike the fleece of a long-wool sheep. This, at least, is the effect upon the eye, and at a short distance the illusion is complete, and the fleecy masses which depend from the roof closely resemble fine wool. But on the other side of the entrance, the whole appearance is different, the substance being of the purest white, and indeed as white as driven snow. Quite a forest of stalagtites depend from the roof, some being long and narrow and others again massive and rugged, but invariably tapering to a sharp point. This is due to the peculiar process by which the stalactites are formed. It may bo explained, parenthetically, that the water in finding its way through the limestone strata above, becomes charged with carbonate of lime. The concretion of this carbonate of lime, as it oozes through the roof above, gradually forms a pendant cone, on the end of which may invariably be seen a glistening drop of water. These drops gradually concrete in turn, and so the process goes on, the stalactite slowly growing longer and stronger. At the same time, the drops which fall on the floor also concrete, and form what is called a stalagmite. This rises gradually and eventually meets the stalactite halfway, the two then combining into one slender column, which by the same process then thickens gradually. These stalactites are the feature of the fairy grotto. They hang in groups or clusters, each of which comprises a countless array of these beautiful crystals. Many fanciful shapes are assumed, and indeed a vivid imagination might conjure as many pictures from one of these groups as from the proverbial grate of glowing embers. It would be impossible to give a better idea of the appearance of the encrustation in this chamber than to say that it resembles 'the centre portion of a cauliflower. THE BANQUET CHAMBER. This is also an attractive cavern, its walls and roof being composed of the white glistening substance so characteristic of the highest level which we had by this time reached. There are, however, no features of special interest in the Banquet Chamber, so-called from an experience which befel the party including Mr T. Humphries (Chief Surveyor of Auckland), Mr J. R. Hanna (photographer), and others who, it will be remembered, visited the caves about a year ago by desire of the Government to survey the interior and take a series of photographic views. When they reached this chamber, they found that the natives had prepared quite a banquet for them, and had it attractively laid out on a table which still remains there for the convenience of other parties. Hence the name Banquet Chamber. Its interior is rendered beautiful by clusters of slender crystal-like pendants hanging from the roof, and which contribute a pretty effect. At one end of this chamber is the upper entrance, while the other end leads into MAIR’S CAVERN. This is without doubt the most remarkable part of the caves. Each chamber or cavern which we had inspected previously was remarkable for some lovely characteristic, and strangely enough, no two of these were alike. Bub in this cavern we had grouped together something of the loveliness of each, while at the same time every corner of the cavern was enriched by additional wonders which we had not even dreamt of. Here, the formations were wonderful in the fanciful and symmetrical shapes which they assumed, and there th 6 shades and tints charmed the eye and invested the particular objects on which we gazed with a loveliness which was almost spirituelle. At one moment we were admiring an encrustation which was alabaster-like in its purity, at another the artistic senses were charmed by a coral formation of the most delicate pink, while again our expressions of delight were unbounded on suddenly beholding a lovely cluster of crystal pendants. “Heavenly,” a lady’s voice exclaimed, and I agreed with the expressive remark. But enough of generalities. THE Vv HITE TERRACE.

This remarkable formation is in the cor ridor leading to Mair’s Cavern. To those who have seen the Rotorua terraces, the similarity of this miniature is wonderful. For it is only a miniature, its height being only four or five feet, and its width scarcely greater. It is of staiagmitic formation, and of a pure white glistening substance, not unlike the silica deposit of the terraces, while, by way of further illustration, one might imagine its surface to be covered with icing sugar. There are fifteen or eighteen terraces, with a border of a couple of inches to each. Above is a small recess in the wall, which serves to improve the effect. Fleecy encrustations surround the terraces, and they stand out in bold relief to the surroundings. We were told that there are several other white terrace formations, but these were the only ones we saw. At the other end of the cavern, though, we were charmed by another formation of a somewhat similar nature, but of a wholly different colour, called THE BLACK TERRACE. It is somewhat similar in size to the White Terrace, being also a miniature in comparison with the former natura

wonders of Rotorua. Though called the Black Terrace, it is really of a warm brown, between a coffee and a chocolate colour. The substance is smooth, and the terraces on this formation also rise gradually like the tiers on a wedding cake. As might be imagined, the Brown Terrace is not by any means so pretty in appearance as the white, but it is quite as perfect in form. It is worthy of remark that several of the stalactites in the vicinity of the Black Terrace are of a brownish colour, and one pendant was shown us of a peculiar green hue. Both in shape and colour it exactly resembles that useful vegetable commonly known as parsnip. GROTESQUE FORMATIONS. It would be impossible to give any clear idea of the shapes assumed by the stalactites in Mair’s Cavern, but they are grotesque in the extreme. One remarkable pedestal directly in front of the entrance excited our wonder. Surrounded by quite a number of smaller pedestals, it looked exceedingly like an effective grouping of Maori carved figures, and the illusion grew stronger as we examined the figures more closely. It was possible to trace all kinds of fantastic forms on the encrustations, and very small effort of the imagination was required to do so. Indeed, one stalagmite which was pointed out to us was an exact imitation of a judge in wig and robes, and others strongly resembled the terracotta figures which are sold as ornaments. On many of these, we could plainly trace the outlines of Maori faces, and in many instances the detail was filled in with quite startling effect. The stalactite and stalagmite formations are indeed wonderful in this cavern, and simply inexhaustible in their varied forms. We were especially charmed by some clusters of crystal pendants fully two feet in length, and scarcely so thick as a pencil; other groups again were striking in their resemblance to bunches of carrots or parsnips. THE BLANKET. This was one of the last of the sights of the caves which wo inspected, and it is a wonder. Hanging from the roof of Mair’s Cavern are what at five yards’ distance one would declare to be the folds of a white blanket. Nothing is wanting to complete the illusion, even the red stripes which are usually on each end of the blanket being discernable. The formation is of a white semitransparent alabaster substance, and when a light is held on the other side the stripes which are not apparent on the surface may be seen as plainly as possible. A stalagmite growth has formed from the floor beneath, and already has joined to the lower end of the blanket. Here again, lovely crystal pendants are plentiful and literally cover the roof, adding much to its loveliness. CONCLUSION. Having exhausted the wonders of th e caves, we retraced our footsteps to the Banquet Chamber, at the other end of which we crept through a narrow opening, and found ourselves on the hill side sixty feet above the spot where we entered. Our trip through the caves had occupied scarcely two hours, and was too hastily made. A whole day would scarcely be sufficient to enable a careful inspection to be made. It is probable that ere long the caves will be greatly enlarged. New chambers are being discovered every day, and Mr Fraser, the caretaker, informed me that only a few hours prior to our visit he had discovered a lovely grotto in which the whole of the formations closely resemble coral, producing an exquisite effect. He had also discovered other very pretty subterranean chambers which are not yet open to the public, and he expected that those already open would be wholly eclipsed by discoveries yet to be made. It is significant that the whole of the country from Waitomo through to Mokau is honeycombed with caves, and it is' quite probable that others wholly surpassing Waitomo for beauty and grandeur may yet be found. Till then, however, the Waitomo Caves may be considered amongst our most attractive natural wonders.