Taniwha Cave

Useful Information

Location:	Nelson, at the corner of Trafalgar and Hardy Streets.
Open:	All year Mon-Fri 10-17, Sat, Sun 10-16:30. Closed Good Friday, 15-DEC. [2010]
Fee:	Free. Suggested donation: Adults NZD 5, School Children NZD 2, Family NZD 10. [2010]
Classification:	Cave Replica
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	The Nelson Provincial Museum, Pupuri Taonga o Te Tai Ao, Cnr Trafalgar and Hardy Sts, Nelson, Tel. +64-3-548-9588, Fax. +64-3-548-9589. E-mail:
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History

Description

Taniwha Cave is an artificial cave constructed from urethane foam and fibreglass. It is located at the Nelson Provincial Museum. It is actually a recreation of Showcave Ngarua Caves on Takaka Hill, with marble rocks and speleothems. It is named Taniwha Cave because of an old Maori legend, which is explained inside the artificial cave. A motion sensor hidden in the cave entrance activates the sound track.

The cave is intended to show typical features of caves. In New Zealand this oobviously includes glowworms. They were created using fibre-optic.

The cave is part of the Lower Gallery exhibition on Te Tau Ihu, the region between Tasman Bay and Golden Bay. The exhibition focuses on the history of the area.