Golden Bay and Nelson · about 13 km from Motueka
Riuwaka Resurgence (Te Puna o Riuwaka)
Info · exploration
Information only: this cave is dived by a small group of New Zealand cave divers and expeditions, and we know no dive centre, guide or club that takes visitors.
- CertificationFull cave
- SpecialRopework
Diving and fills
Dive here with
No dive centre guides here yet. Do you dive here with guests? Add your centre for free →
Now at Riuwaka Resurgence (Te Puna o Riuwaka)
What it looks like
All 1 videos and posts
Videos and posts
From other divers, via YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. They only load when you click; after that, Google's or Meta's privacy rules apply.
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Other people's footage, not advice: how someone else dives here says nothing about what suits your team. Dive within your training.
The dive
The north branch of the Riuwaka runs through the marble under Tākaka Hill and comes back up at the foot of a cliff, in a deep pool that is always clear and very cold even in midsummer.
Profile and sections
The north branch of the Riuwaka runs through the marble under Tākaka Hill and comes back up at the foot of a cliff, in a deep pool that is always clear and very cold even in midsummer. Behind the pool come sumps and dry passages: sometimes divers find air pockets, sometimes only submerged tunnels and shafts.
Kieran McKay and a second diver recently made two trips here and call it a technically and physically very challenging cave. If it turns out to connect with the MiddleEarth/Greenlink system, about a kilometre to the northwest, it would according to Dive Pacific become the second largest cave system in New Zealand.
Practical: the spring is a sacred place, where the iwi's ancestors came to cleanse and heal body and spirit; a carved gateway (waharoa) welcomes visitors to experience the water with respect. Next to the car park are a picnic area and a swimming hole.
- Depth and profile
- A series of sumps with dry passages between them · depth and length not published
- Configuration
- Expedition dive: besides cave diving also climbing, rope rigging and dry caving (Dive Pacific). Configuration: estimate.
Who can dive where
- At least Full cave
- Configurations: Sidemount / CCR / Small cylinders / no-mount (speleo sumps)
- Configuration unknown — research beforehand
- Ropework (SRT) needed
- Experienced divers only
This is how the planner decides who in your team may dive this cave. Rules your own trip adds (organizer, a mail, the AI) show with your trip.
How to get there
At the end of the Riwaka Valley road (turn off SH60 just before the climb over Tākaka Hill), a 10-minute walk on an easy track. Wāhi tapu of Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Rārua and Ngāti Tama; we found no public diving agreement with the iwi or DOC: ask.
Around Riuwaka Resurgence (Te Puna o Riuwaka)
FillsNo fill station known nearby
No provider in Golden Bay and Nelson yet
The caves here are listed as information only: we don't know a dive centre, guide or club yet that takes visitors, so you can't plan a trip here yet. Do you know one, or are you one? Let us know.