Broken River Cave

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section is missing citations or needs footnotes.
Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (March 2007)

Broken River Cave is a 362-meter-long cave in New Zealand, located on Arthur's Pass Road from Christchurch on the west coast. It is 40 km from Arthur's Pass and from Christchurch.

The river takes a shortcut under a hill. A sign outside the cave reads "Cave Stream Reserve".

In summer when the water is warmer and lower it is a rather interesting and popular spot to spelunker, however in spring and during heavy rains, it can be rather dangerous. There have been at least two deaths in the cave due to drowning and hypothermia.

While the cave is safe and easy to negotiate when the river is low, it is always cold and totally dark, so warm clothing and at least two sources of light are essential. Do not enter if the water is more than knee-deep at the outflow end. There is a minor waterfall to climb at the far end, although bolts and chains make this easy.